SURVEY  OF  SMOKING  OPIUM  CONDITIONS 


IN  THE  FAR  EAST 


A Report  to  the  Executive  Board  of  the 
Foreign  Policy  Association 
(March,  1927) 


hy 


HERBERT  L.  MAY 


Opium  Research  Committee 
of  the 

Foreign  Policy  Association 

NATIONAL  HEADQUARTERS 

Eighteen  East  Forty-First  Street 
New  York  City 


Trinted 

August,  1927 


FOREWORD 


The  Executive  Board  of  the  Foreign  Policy 
Association  presents  a survey  of  smoking  opium 
conditions  in  the  Far  East  submitted  by  Mr. 
Herbert  L.  May  as  a result  of  his  visit  to  the  countries 
concerned.  Mr.  May,  before  visiting  the  Orient, 
studied  carefully  the  literature  on  the  subject,  and 
consulted  with  persons  qualified  to  advise  him,  both 
in  the  United  States  and  in  Europe,  so  that  he  was 
well  informed  on  the  subject  before  he  went  to  the 
East. 

Without  associating  itself  in  the  opinions  ex- 
pressed, for  which  Mr.  May  is  solely  responsible, 
the  Board  believes  that  the  survey  should  be  brought 
to  the  attention  of  persons  interested  in  the  opium 
question  for  their  information.  It  is  being  dis- 
tributed among  such  persons  and  is  not  being  pub- 
lished as  a report  of  the  Foreign  Policy  Association. 
The  Board  submits  the  survey  as  one  made  by  an 
observer  in  whose  honesty  of  purpose  and  care  in 
observation  it  has  absolute  confidence. 


CONTENTS 

PART  I.  page 

Scope  and  Method  of  Investigation 5 

Statement  of  the  Smoking  Opium  Problem  and  Con- 
clusions   6 

“Drug”  Control  before  Further  Smoking  Restrictions......  7 

Smuggling  the  Chief  Difficulty  in  Control 8 

Limitation  of  Production 8 

Methods  of  Control:  Government  Monopoly  Now,  Pro- 
hibition Later 9 

Relative  Importance  of  the  Opium  Smoking  Problem 13 

The  International  Situation  and  the  United  States 14 

PART  11. 

Needs  for  Further  Study 15 

Unreliability  of  Testimony 18 

Education  and  Propaganda 19 

Public  Opinion 19 

ANNEXES : 


I,  Detailed  Report  of  the  Far  Eastern  Investigation 


on  Smoking  Opium 21 

11.  Statistics  Furnished  by  the  Bureau  of  Customs  and 
the  Constabulary  of  the  Philippines  and  the 
Police  Department  of  Manila 44 

III.  Documents  Obtained  in  Canton,  China 46 


1.  Anti-Opium  Regulations  (Canton) 

2.  Rules  for  Applying  for  Smoking  Licenses  (Can- 
ton) 

IV.  Hongkong — Report  of  the  Committee  Appointed  by 
H.  E.  the  Governor  to  Consider  the  Colony’s 
Position  with  Regard  to  the  Obligations  In- 
curred under  the  International  Opium  Conven- 


tion, 1912.  (Excerpts  from  this  report) 49 

BIBLIOGRAPHY  54 


SURVEY  OF  SMOKING  OPIUM  CONDITIONS 
IN  THE  FAR  EAST 


A Report  to  the  Executive  Board  of  the  Foreign  Policy  Association 


PART  I. 

IT  IS  difficult  to  draft  a report  on  “Opium”  that  will  be  sufficiently 
technical  for  the  expert  and  at  the  same  time  simple  enough  for  the 
ordinary  reader.  Moreover,  there  are,  in  this  highly  controversial 
problem,  so  few  admitted  facts,  or  indeed  so  few  facts  of  any  kind  as 
distinguished  from  opinions,  that  the  form  of  a legal  brief  is  impracticable. 
Again,  to  burden  the  report  with  a narrative  of  the  observations  on  a 
tour  of  the  Far  East  would  be  to  lose  the  thread  of  argument.  Accord- 
ingly, the  form  best  adapted  to  this  purpose  is  to  embody  in  the  report 
proper  merely  the  conclusions  and  a brief  resume  of  the  reasons  therefor, 
relegating  all  details  to  a series  of  annexes. 

A general  knowledge  of  the  opium  problem  as  it  existed  in  1926  is 
presupposed  on  the  part  of  the  reader.  Those  persons  who  wish  more 
details  of  conditions  in,  for  example,  the  Philippines,  China,  the  Nether- 
lands East  Indies,  British  Malaya  and  Hongkong  are  referred  to 
Annex  I of  this  report. 

Scope  and  Method  of  Investigation 

The  scope  of  this  study  has  been  an  unprejudiced  and  dispassionate 
investigation  of  conditions  in  those  parts  of  the  world  where  the  question 
of  the  control  of  opium  smoking  is  most  pressing,  an  analysis  of  oft 
repeated  statements  which  seem  of  doubtful  validity,  of  the  sources  of 
information,  the  factors  influencing  progress,  the  various  methods  of 
government  control,  and  the  attitude  of  governments  toward  the  problem. 
The  primary  purpose  has  been  to  evaluate  international  policies ; the 
secondary  to  suggest  paths  along  which  a more  complete  knowledge  of 
the  subject  may  be  attained,  so  that  future  action  may  be  based  upon  in- 
formation and  less  upon  theory,  rhetoric  and  emotion.  About  a year  was 
devoted  to  this  study;  half  of  the  time  on  books  and  documents,  and  the 
other  half  on  visits  to  some  of  the  capitals  of  Europe  and  America,  the 
Secretariat  of  the  League  of  Nations  and  the  sessions  of  the  Assembly  in 
Geneva,  and  then  to  the  large  centers  of  India,  Ceylon,  Federated  Malay 
States,  Straits  Settlements,  Netherlands  East  Indies,  Philippines,  Hong- 
kong, China  and  Japan. 

There  are  few  real  facts  in  the  problem  to  work  from.  We  know  that 
in  various  parts  of  the  world  certain  varieties  of  plants  grow  whose 
products  have  a beneficial  effect  in  the  treatment  of  disease  and  a vicious 


5 


effect  if  used  for  self-indulgence;  beyond  this  point  we  get  into  the  realm 
of  statistics  which  are  for  the  most  part  unreliable,  and  opinion  which  is 
meaningless  without  interpretation.  It  was  my  custom  in  each  country 
to  interview  government  officials,  churchmen  or  missionaries,  educators, 
business  men,  natives  and  physicians.  In  many  places  I talked  to  em- 
ployers of  native  labor,  sea  captains,  excise  commissioners,  army  officers. 
League  of  Nations  representatives,  consuls,  police,  secret  service  agents, 
editors,  newspaper  correspondents  and  bankers.  Only  sufficient  time 
was  spent  to  procure  a cross  section  of  this  opinion,  to  appraise  it,  and 
observe  the  working  of  the  methods  of  control.  The  results  as  embodied 
in  this  report,  therefore,  are  of  value  only  to  the  extent  that  the  writer 
is  a competent  appraiser  of  opinion  and  is  capable  of  a judicial  approach. 

Accordingly,  the  personal  equation  must  be  taken  into  acount;  but  it 
should  be  explained  that  where  I give  an  opinion  it  is  not  based  upon  pure 
rationalization  but  upon  extensive  reading  and  a consideration  of  the 
opinions  of  persons,  in  the  Far  East  and  elsewhere,  who  are  competent 
to  form  an  intelligent  judgment. 

There  is  no  satisfactory  terminology  in  the  documentary  study  of  habit- 
forming drugs.  Unfortunately  “opium”  is  commonly  used  as  a broad 
term  to  include  every  variety  of  habit-forming  drug,  thus  diverting  at- 
tention from  such  as  cocaine  and  hashish.  In  this  report,  in  order  not  to 
confuse  the  reader  accustomed  to  the  common  terminology,  and  for  want 
of  a better  one,  I shall  use  the  word  “opium”  (with  quotation  marks)  in 
its  broad  sense  indicated  above;  opium  (without  quotation  marks)  as 
meaning  the  gum  opium  from  the  poppy ; and  “manufactured  drugs”  or 
“drugs”  (with  quotation  marks)  to  include  all  classes  of  habit-forming 
drugs  produced  by  chemists  in  a laboratory,  whether  from  the  poppy  or 
from  the  other  plants  mentioned  in  the  Hague  Treaty  of  1912.  Refer- 
ences to  raw  opium  for  eating  and  prepared  opium  for  smoking  will  be 
so  noted. 

Statement  of  the  Smoking  Opium  Problem  and  Conclusions 

Existing  treaties  provide  for  the  “gradual  and  effective  suppression” 
of  opium  smoking;  that  is,  for  eventual  prohibition.  Why  not  immediate 
prohibition?  Two  factors  prevent  this,  in  my  opinion. 

(1)  The  possible  “drug”  menace.  The  restricted  smoker  may  turn  to 
“drugs”;  hence,  prohibition  of  smoking  must  imply  adequate  “drug” 
control. 

(2)  The  smuggling  factor.  Smuggling  is  the  chief  obstacle  to  any 
form  of  government  control  of  smoking,  but  particularly  to  prohibition, 
because  smuggling  increases  as  barriers  are  raised  against  the  commodity; 
prohibition  where  a demand  exists  is  the  highest  possible  barrier.  Smug- 
gling, generally  speaking,  exists  where  there  is  overproduction  in  one 

6 


country  and  a demand  in  another,  with  a barrier  against  its  satisfaction. 
To  wipe  out  smuggling  entirely  some  form  of  limitation  of  production  is 
necessary. 

To  refresh  the  reader’s  mind  on  the  main  facts  of  the  smoking  opium 
problem,  I will  remind  him  that  the  chief  producing  countries  of  opium 
for  smoking  are  China,  Persia  and  India.  In  China,  poppy-growing  and 
the  manufacture  and  use  of  prepared  opium  for  smoking  are  prohibited 
by  law,  but  thousands  of  tons  are  produced  annually  and  used  within 
China  or  smuggled  to  other  opium  consuming  countries  of  the  Far  East. 
In  Persia  there  is  neither  limitation  of  production  nor  control.  In  India 
there  is  a government  monopoly  of  poppy-growing  and  the  sale  of  opium. 
India  began  in  1927  a policy  of  eliminating  her  export  for  smoking  within 
ten  years,  ten  per  cent  a year.  She  exports  only  on  order  of  other  gov- 
ernments. 

There  are  three  possible  ways  of  limiting  production:  (a)  each  coun- 
try growing  enough  opium  to  meet  its  own  needs  (an  impracticable  method, 
in  my  judgment)  ; (b)  certain  countries  producing  enough  to  meet  their 
own  needs,  and  a surplus  for  export,  carefully  controlled  to  reach  only 
those  countries  desiring  the  product  (the  Indian  method)  ; and  (c)  a limi- 
tation of  production  to  medicinal  and  scientific  needs,  which  would  cut 
out  opium  for  smoking  unless  supplies  for  smoking  addicts  would  be  con- 
sidered “medicinal.”  Because  of  the  fact  that  smokers,  if  restricted,  may 
turn  to  “drugs”  I believe  that  limitation  of  production  of  “drugs”  and 
control  of  the  traffic  should  proceed  along  with  limitation  of  production 
of  opium  for  smoking  purposes. 

If  this  idea  is  sound,  a considerable  period  of  time  must  elapse;  yet 
some  form  of  control  of  opium  smoking  is  in  the  meantime  advisable. 
The  various  methods  of  control  are  outlined  hereafter.  Prohibition, 
under  existing  conditions  of  uncontrolled  supplies,  cannot  function.  In 
my  opinion,  a modified  form  of  government  monopoly,  with  proper  safe- 
guards, is  the  best  method  in  preparation  for  eventual  prohibition. 

“Drug”  Control  before  Further  Smoking  Restrictions 

Time  and  again  the  fear  was  expressed  by  persons  whom  I interviewed 
that  opium  smokers  (or  eaters)  if  deprived  of  the  product,  or  if  more  re- 
stricted in  its  purchase  or  use,  would  resort  to  “drugs”  or  bad  brandy. 
China,  said  to  have  had  at  one  time  a liquor  problem  and  having  later  a 
smoking  opium  problem,  seems  to  have  acquired  in  more  recent  years  a 
“drug”  problem,  although  some  students  of  the  question  allege  that  since 
the  recrudescence  of  opium  smoking  on  a large  scale  in  China  the  rate 
of  increase  in  “drug”  addiction  has  ceased  to  grow.  There  is  too  little 
knowledge  of  this  tendency  to  shift  from  smoking  to  “drugs”  and  it  is 
one  that  needs  study  by  persons  with  technical  training.  On  the  insuffi- 
cient evidence  available,  it  is  my  opinion  that  the  inhibited  opium  smoker 
is  a potential  “drug”  user,  and  that  restrictions  upon  smoking  lead  to  in- 
crease of  “drug”  addiction. 


7 


For  this  reason,  I should  say  that  strictness  of  “drug”  control  should 
by  all  means  precede,  or  at  least  keep  pace  with  further  smoking  restric- 
tion. As  we  are  dealing  here  more  particularly  with  the  subject  of  control 
of  opium  smoking,  the  allied  question  of  “manufactured  drugs”  is  treated 
in  an  annex. 

Smuggling  the  Chief  Difficulty  in  Control 

A perusal  of  Annex  I will  indicate  that,  no  matter  what  method  of 
control  is  employed,  smuggling  is  the  chief  obstacle  to  success.  Smuggling 
is  possible,  indeed  inevitable,  where  a demand  exists  at  one  point  with 
restrictions  on  use  or  price,  and  an  uncontrolled  supply  exists  in  some 
other  country.  If  each  opium  smoking  country  grew  and  manufactured 
its  own  opium,  produced  only  enough  for  its  own  needs,  and  prevented 
the  product  from  leaving  the  country  (if  that  were  possible),  there  would 
be  no  smuggling  problem;  but  some  countries  produce  none  and  others 
more  than  they  need,  and  some  of  the  latter  countries  exercise  no  effective 
control  over  the  product,  by  monopoly  or  otherwise.  If  production  be 
limited  to  domestic  needs  and  export  forbidden,  or  if  a surplus  is  pro- 
duced and  export  limited  to  other  governments,  there  is  still  the  chance, 
as  experience  has  shown,  of  some  of  the  production  getting  into  illicit 
channels.  With  production  limited  to  medicinal  and  scientific  needs  the 
chances  of  smuggling  on  a large  scale  are  very  much  reduced,  particularly 
if  the  plants  are  grown  under  government  monopoly,  for  a government 
can  control  its  own  crops  better  than  it  can  a licensee’s,  as  India’s  ex- 
perience has  shown.  Smuggling  can  be  curtailed  by  proper  effort,  but  it 
can  only  be  reduced  to  a negligible  factor  by  limiting  production  to  medi- 
cinal and  scientific  needs. 

Limitation  of  Production 

Control  of  the  use  of  opium  for  smoking  and  drugs,  no  matter  what 
form  the  control  takes,  is  a necessary  step  while  awaiting  limitation  of 
production  and  eventual  prohibition.  Limitation  of  production,  when  it  is 
actually  begun  on  a world-wide  scale,  will  undoubtedly  be  progressive ; 
that  is  to  say,  the  reduction  will  be  a certain  percentage  each  year.  If 
production  of  opium  be  reduced  even  to  ten  per  cent  of  the  present  pro- 
duction, the  narcotic  effect  of  that  much  opium  converted  into  “manu- 
factured drugs”  would  probably  be  greater  than  the  effect  today  of  the 
entire  production  of  raw  and  prepared  opium  and  “drugs”  derived  there- 
from. Unless  “drug”  control  precedes  drastic  restrictions  on  eating  and 
smoking  opium,  that  ten  per  cent  will  be  mostly  converted  into  “drugs,” 
and  the  smokers  will  be,  by  that  time,  probably  “drug”  addicts.  For,  if 
there  is  not  enough  raw  material  to  supply  both  smokers  and  “drug” 
manufacturers,  the  latter  can  outbid  the  former,  even  for  opium  of  low 
morphine  content.  It  is,  therefore,  necessary  that  “drug”  control  precede 
drastic  limitation  of  production. 

It  should  also  be  clear  that  limitation  of  production  and  eventual  pro- 
hibition are  only  feasible  through  international  agreements,  and  that  such 


S 


agreements  can  only  be  carried  out  by  governments  having  effective  control 
of  production  and  use.  In  my  opinion  such  control  can  best  be  exercised 
by  a modified  form  of  government  monopoly  along  the  lines  suggested. 
So  long  as  the  uncontrolled  opium  production  of  China  and  Persia  is 
floating  about  the  world  seeking  smokers,  no  form  of  control  can  prevent 
considerable  illicit  trade.  The  reason  why  government  monopoly  is 
stressed  in  this  report  is  that  it  seems  to  me  the  form  of  control  best 
adapted  to  prepare  for  eventual  prohibition.  The  only  progress  in  limit- 
ing production  is  India’s  recent  move  for  curtailing  that  part  of  the  pro- 
duction that  is  exported  so  that  the  exports  vnll  be  reduced  at  the  rate  of 
ten  per  cent  each  year  until  the  entire  export  trade  for  smoking  is  wiped 
out,  an  action  made  easy  through  control  by  government  monopoly. 

Methods  of  Control:  Government  Monopoly  Now, 
Prohibition  Later 

Methods  of  control  throughout  the  Far  East  vary  from  a simple  sales 
tax  to  the  prohibition  method  in  use  in  the  Philippines. 

(1)  No  restrictions  on  sale,  but  simply  a tax,  or  customs  duty,  or  both, 
as  in  Persia. 

(2)  Government  monopoly,  “farming  out”  to  individuals,  or  to  li- 
censees, the  right  to  sell  all  that  they  can.  This  system  is  employed  in 
Macao  (Portuguese). 

(3)  Government  monopoly,  the  government  operating  its  own  shops 
with  government  employees  engaged  at  a fixed  salary;  in  force  in  British 
Malaya,  Netherlands  East  Indies,  and  elsewhere.  This  removes  the  in- 
centive to  push  sales. 

(4)  Government  monopoly  with  the  smokers  registered,  licensed  and 
rationed  to  consume  a limited  amount,  but  permitting  new  names  to  be 
added  from  time  to  time  to  the  list  of  registrants,  as  in  some  parts  of  the 
Netherlands  East  Indies. 

(5)  Same  as  (4)  except  that  the  list  is  closed  and  that  no  new  names 
may  be  added ; in  effect  a sort  of  limited  prohibition  applying  to  all  ex- 
cept addicts.  This  system  is  in  force  in  some  other  parts  of  the  Nether- 
lands East  Indies.  When  the  addicts  are  supplied  through  public  hos- 
pitals or  dispensaries,  this  becomes  an  almost  complete  form  of  prohibi- 
tion, with  the  treatment  of  addicts  considered  as  a medicinal  use  of  pre- 
pared opium. 

(6)  Prohibition.  There  are  two  classifications  which  should  be  recog- 
nized as  distinct:  Prohibition  in  a district  where  the  vice  has  never  been 
practiced,  and  prohibition  where  it  has.  It  is  the  latter  class  of  prohibition 
which  one  has  to  deal  with  in  the  Philippines,  China  and  Korea;  the 
former  class  in  some  parts  of  the  Netherlands  East  Indies. 

In  Annex  I of  this  report,  these  methods  of  control  in  various  countries 
of  the  East  are  discussed.  A reading  of  these  accounts  will  show  that 
prohibition  is  not  working  in  the  so-called  prohibition  countries,  while 
government  monopoly,  no  matter  what  legitimate  objection  can  be  made 

9 


to  it  as  a permanent  solution,  is  more  immediately  practicable.  A com- 
parison of  the  two  methods — government  monopoly  and  prohibition — at 
least  shows  that  a law  which  involves  a saving  to  the  government  treasury 
is  usually  better  enforced  than  one  where  a mere  matter  of  abstract 
morality  is  concerned.  In  China  prohibition  is  not  being  enforced  be- 
cause (to  mention  but  one  reason)  the  “war  lords”  are  not  willing  to  part 
with  opium  revenue.  In  the  Netherlands  East  Indies,  government  mon- 
opoly, although  not  quite  so  ambitious  in  its  aims  as  prohibition,  is  ap- 
parently producing  more  genuine  results.  No  statistical  comparison  of 
the  relative  merits  of  prohibition  and  government  monopoly  is  possible, 
since  the  extent  of  the  illicit  trade  remains  always  an  unknown  factor. 

It  should  be  noted  here  that  at  the  time  of  the  Hague  Convention  of 
1912,  which  provided  for  gradual  and  effective  suppression  of  opium 
smoking,  all  of  the  countries  where  the  problem  existed  except  China  and 
the  Philippines,  were  using  some  form  of  government  monopoly.  Most 
of  them  had  advanced  through  successive  stages  from  partial  to  complete 
control.  On  the  other  hand,  but  a few  years  previous  to  1912,  China  and 
the  Philippines  had  skipped  most  or  all  of  the  steps  and  jumped  right  up 
to  step  (6),  prohibition.  The  United  States,  in  trying  to  solve  its  liquor 
problem,  made  the  same  jump,  while  some  other  governments  that  did 
likewise  returned  later  to  some  form  of  government  monopoly.  If  the 
fear  is  expressed  that  democratic  governments  might  shy  at  government 
monopoly,  it  should  be  remembered  that  at  the  1926-27  session  of  the 
United  States  Congress,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  the  head  of 
the  prohibition  enforcement  division  strongly  recommended  a bill  for  a 
government  monopoly  of  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  medicinal  whiskey. 

Let  me  repeat  here  that  any  one  who  makes  a close  study  of  the  smoking 
opium  problem  will  come  to  the  inevitable  conclusion  that  today  smuggling 
stands  in  the  way  of  any  form  of  really  effective  control.  A reading  of 
the  annexes  will  show  that  restrictions  on  use,  height  of  monopoly  price, 
distance  from  source  of  supply  and  efficiency  of  a patrol  and  preventive 
system  are  all  factors  which  affect  the  amount  of  smuggling;  and  that 
illicit  opium  fills  one  hundred  per  cent  of  the  demand  in  the  “prohibition” 
countries  and  a much  lower  percentage  in  the  government  monopoly  coun- 
tries. 

With  the  reservations  mentioned  below  as  to  China  and  the  Philippines, 
I should  say  that  the  “prohibition”  countries  would  gain  by  a temporary 
change  to  some  form  of  government  monopoly,  subject  to  the  conditions 
r am  about  to  describe,  particularly  regarding  profit.  Under  evaded  pro- 
hibition they  do  not  know  who  their  addicts  are,  where  the  supplies  come 
from  or  anything  about  the  evil ; it  is  all  subterranean.  As  a preparation 
for  real  prohibition,  the  government  should  have  control  of  the  sources 
and  the  outlets  to  enable  it  properly  and  progressively  to  dry  up  the 
stream,  and  to  identify  or  “tag”  the  addicts. 

I would  suggest  certain  conditions,  however,  to  be  imposed  upon  gov- 
ernment monopoly : ( 1 ) There  should  be  a clear  and  unequivocal  state- 

10 


ment  by  the  government  as  to  a policy  of  administration  beneficial  to  the 
addicts;  (2)  there  should  be  no  reliance  upon  the  revenue  for  general 
budgetary  purposes;  (3)  as  definite  a time  or  contingency  as  possible 
should  be  fixed  when  prohibition  will  take  the  place  of  a monopoly;  (4) 
in  the  meantime  there  should  be  prohibition  for  non-addicts,  and  addic- 
tion (smoking  or  “drug”)  should  be  treated  as  a medical  problem, — this 
involves  a registration  plan,  with  registration  easy  at  first,  and  eventually 
some  form  of  rationing  until  cure  or  death;  (5)  the  monopoly  should 
be  under  the  control  of  a public  welfare,  social  welfare,  or  health  depart- 
ment and  not  in  a finance  department;  (6)  to  dispense  with  the  revenue, 
the  government  could  supply  addicts  at  cost  (not  a good  plan),  or  could 
use  the  profits  for  treatment  of  addiction,  educational  and  propaganda 
work,  social  amelioration  for  the  victims,  and  preventive  social  institu- 
tions. The  objection  that  a decrease  in  consumption  will  mean  a reduc- 
tion of  the  funds  available  for  these  purposes  is  not  one  of  any  force,  for 
as  smoking  decreases  the  need  for  these  funds  will  probably  decrease,  as 
the  social  and  economic  burden  of  addiction  is  lessened.  If  not,  other 
sources  of  revenue  can  be  found,  particularly  from  a people  economically 
improved  by  a reduction  in  smoking. 

Applying  these  various  conclusions  to  the  opium  smoking  countries 
(except  China  and  the  Philippines)  I should  say  that  the  modified  form 
of  government  monopoly  indicated  above  is  the  best  form  of  control  in 
preparation  for  eventual  prohibition.  All  of  these  countries  which  have 
not  yet  done  so  should  install  the  government-clerk-on-a-fixed-salary  form 
of  shop  keeping  to  remove  the  incentive  to  push  sales,  and  should  register 
consumers  and  record  purchases.  The  value  of  rationing  for  the  present 
is  chiefly  as  a means  of  preventing  increased  purchases  and  resale.  So  far 
as  Hongkong  (which  is  practically  a part  of  China)  is  concerned,  the 
simplest  form  of  registration  possible  without  rationing  must  be  sufficient 
until  conditions  in  China  improve. 

Logically,  and  ignoring  political  feasibility,  the  same  line  of  reasoning 
applies  to  China  and  the  Philippines,  but  there  are  special  factors  which 
must  be  taken  into  account.  China  has  certain  treaty  obligations  which 
may  make  an  out-and-out  government  monopoly  inadvisable,  and  she  has 
a certain  amount  of  intelligent  opinion  against  the  abuses  of  opium  smok- 
ing that  it  would  be  regrettable  to  thwart.  A reading  of  the  annexes 
will  indicate  that  an  enforcement  of  prohibition  along  the  drastic  lines 
of  the  1907  period  is  hardly  possible  after  the  awakening  that  the  Na- 
tionalist movement  has  brought  about ; that  her  most  likely  hope  of  success 
lies  in  a temporary  control,  honestly  administered,  when  she  gets  a stable 
central  government,  with  the  “squeeze”  idea  eliminated;  and  that  the  con- 
trol now  being  exercised  by  the  Cantonese  group  in  the  territory  under 
their  control  (which  is  virtually  a government  monopoly  under  the  “face- 
saving” device  of  a “suppression  monopoly,”  with  the  expressed  purpose 
of  prohibition  by  1929)  is  an  acceptable  and  practical  compromise,  even 
if  the  fixing  of  1929  as  a date  for  prohibition  be  too  optimistic.  The  sin- 

11 


cerity  and  practicability  of  the  Cantonese  program  yet  remain  to  be  tested. 
It  may  be  interesting  to  note  that  the  four-year  period  of  preparation  for 
prohibition  set  by  the  Cantonese  (see  Annex  III)  corresponds  pretty 
closely  with  the  period  recommended  in  the  1905  Report  of  the  Philippine 
Commission  of  which  Bishop  Brent  was  a member,  which  period  was, 
however,  much  curtailed  in  practice. 

As  for  the  Philippines,  neither  reasonably  increased  appropriations  for 
the  preventive  service  nor  such  changes  in  personnel  as  are  feasible  would 
materially  affect  the  present  failure  of  prohibition  of  opium  smoking;  the 
present  law  cannot  work  under  existing  world  conditions  of  opium  supply. 
It  is  to  be  doubted  whether  the  actual  amount  of  smoking  in  the  Islands 
would  greatly  vary,  whether  under  prohibition  or  the  kind  of  government 
monopoly  herein  described ; but  the  latter  would  not  only  be  more  honest 
but  a better  preparation  for  an  eventual  enforceable  prohibition  law. 

Considering  all  the  methods  of  control  preparatory  to  prohibition,  I 
should  say  that  the  Dutch  system  in  the  East  Indies  is  at  the  head  of  the 
list  for  efficiency,  practicability  and  flexibility.  It  is  not  as  complicated 
as  it  seems  on  paper,  and  it  allows  properly  for  all  sorts  of  varying  condi- 
tions. Existing  government  monopoly  prices  almost  everywhere,  how- 
ever, are  too  high,  especially  in  the  Netherlands  East  Indies.  Not  only 
do  they  induce  smuggling  but  they  constitute  a high  penalty  against  the 
man  who  obeys  the  law  by  buying  government  opium  and  a high  reward 
for  the  one  who  buys  smuggled  opium  at  the  much  lower  price.  Divans 
(public  smoking  establishments)  apparently  have  a social  feature  which 
makes  smoking  more  attractive.  Therefore,  since  the  object  is  to  reduce 
or  stamp  out  the  vice,  divans  should  not  be  permitted. 

My  opinion  is  very  definitely  that  the  improved  form  of  government 
monopoly  (accompanied  by  world  “drug”  control)  is  the  only  reasonable 
way  of  handling  the  problem  of  opium  smoking  today.  Prohibition  is 
for  the  present  unworkable  and  a source  of  corruption  and  disrespect  for 
the  law.  It  drives  underground  a trade  which  is  much  better  controlled 
in  the  open. 

Prof.  H.  F.  MacNair,  of  St.  John’s  University,  Shanghai,  writes: 
“What  may  be  opined,  however,  is  that  prohibition  does  not  prohibit, 
and  that  careful  regulation  based  on  a slowly  but  gradually  enlightened 
public  opinion,  rather  than  sudden  mass  legislation  at  one  fell  swoop,  may 
be  one  key  to  the  problem.”  (Essay:  “An  Analogy  in  Stimulants,”  in 
“China’s  New  Nationalism  and  Other  Essays,”  Commercial  Press,  Shang- 
hai, 1925.) 

Whatever  one’s  personal  views  may  be  as  to  the  advisability  of  some 
day  prohibiting  opium  smoking  as  the  method  of  controlling  its  abuse, 
the  fact  remains  that  eventual  prohibition  is  a treaty  obligation  under  the 
Hague  Convention  of  1912.  The  argument  herein  advanced  is  that, 
under  existing  circumstances,  immediate  prohibition  is  impracticable,  and 
that,  to  secure  the  expected  benefits,  it  is  first  necessary  to  bring  about  a 
strict  international  control  of  “manufactured  drugs,”  also  a control,  prefer- 

12 


ably  by  government  monopoly,  of  the  production,  manufacture  and  use  of 
prepared  opium  for  smoking,  and  a limitation  of  production.  I say  “under 
existing  circumstances”:  these  may  change  rapidly  in  the  course  of  the 
next  five  years,  owing  to  possible  action  by  the  Persian  Government  as 
indicated  in  its  memorandum  (filed  with  the  League  of  Nations  as  a com- 
ment upon  the  report  of  the  League’s  Persian  Commission)  wherein  it 
appears  that  it  is  possible  that  a reduction  in  poppy  production  may  be 
tried  after  a three-year  preparatory  period ; and  owing  furthermore  to  the 
uncertainty  as  to  whether  China  will  be  able  to  bring  production  and  use 
under  control  as  suggested  by  the  Cantonese  group.  Accordingly,  some 
of  the  conclusions  advanced  in  this  report  are  subject  to  change  as  the 
situation  alters. 

Relative  Importance  of  the  Opium  Smoking  Problem 

Opium  smoking  and  the  use  of  “manufactured  drugs”  are,  in  my 
opinion,  two  distinct  problems,  as  different,  for  example,  as  the  problems 
of  whiskey  drinking  and  the  injection  of  a powerful  stimulant  like  strych- 
nine. The  difference  is  not  merely  one  of  degree;  in  the  use  of  liquor 
and  the  smoking  of  opium  there  are  different  social  and  other  factors,  to 
ignore  which  is  to  make  impossible  a rational  approach  to  the  problem. 
The  difference  in  the  nature  of  the  two  questions,  smoking  opium  and 
drugs,  was  apparently  recognized,  at  least  in  part,  by  the  holding  of  two 
separate  conferences  in  Geneva  in  1924  and  1925,  the  first  on  smoking 
opium  and  the  second  on  “manufactured  drugs” ; and  this  separation  of 
the  question  was  evidently  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  friction  between 
China  and  the  United  States  on  one  hand  and  the  rest  of  the  interested 
powers  on  the  other.  The  real  mistake  of  the  First  Conference  was  to 
include  as  full  members  only  those  countries  where  opium  smoking  is 
still  permitted.  The  United  States  and  China  should  have  been  included  as 
full  members,  for,  as  will  be  shown  in  Annex  I,  prohibition  of  opium 
smoking  is  not  functioning  in  the  Philippines  or  in  China,  and  the  problem 
is  as  acute  there  as  in  countries  where  smoking  is  still  legal. 

It  is  a matter  of  common  knowledge  today  that  the  use  of  “manufactured 
drugs”  is  a more  harmful  habit  than  the  smoking  of  opium,  and  that  the 
former  is  a growing  menace  the  world  over.  Yet  during  the  past  twenty- 
five  years  the  emphasis  has  been  put,  in  the  United  States,  upon  the  lesser 
evil,  which  exists  almost  exclusively  in  the  Orient. 

At  this  point  I wish  to  present  what  seems  to  be  the  prevailing  view- 
point on  opium  smoking  among  officials  and  most  Europeans  and  many 
natives  in  the  Far  East;  namely,  that  it  is  no  more  abused  than  the  drink- 
ing of  liquor  and  that  it  is  indulged  in  for  the  same  reasons.  Several  mis- 
sionaries made  the  statement  that  the  whiskey  sot  is  worse  than  the  opium 
sot,  one  of  them  adding  that  nothing  he  ever  saw  in  the  East  was  as  bad  as 
Glasgow  on  a Saturday  night.  The  reason  the  West  is  so  aroused  by 
opium  smoking  is  that  it  was  a new  vice  to  the  Occidental  missionaries 
and  others  who  first  came  to  the  East,  differing  from  the  drinking  vice 

13 


and  making  more  of  an  impression  on  them.  Besides,  the  abuse  was 
more  prevalent  in  those  days  and  there  was  more  emaciation,  “opium 
face”  and  suffering  from  the  habit.  The  use  of  “manufactured  drugs” 
was  not  then  in  evidence.  It  is  the  opinion,  however,  at  least  in  the  British 
and  Dutch  possessions,  that  since  the  powers  have  agreed  by  treaty  that 
opium  smoking  is  an  evil,  to  be  prohibited  eventually,  the  question  of 
ethics  is  an  academic  one,  and  there  is  nothing  for  the  colonial  officials 
to  do  but  comply  with  the  treaty.  They  declare  that  they  will  do  so,  at 
no  matter  what  cost  in  revenue,  but  they  claim  that  they  cannot  be  ex- 
pected, when  their  opium  revenue  is  gone,  to  spend  money  on  police  duty 
or  preventive  service  to  enforce  a Western  standard  of  “morals”  which 
Oriental  public  opinion  does  not  support.  They  fear  that  the  forbidden 
opium  smoking  will  be  supplanted  by  the  use  of  “drugs”  and  bad  brandy, 
and  the  officials  will  have  a worse  problem  of  disorder  and  crime. 

Further  light  on  the  official  attitude  of  the  East  on  opium  smoking  may 
be  found  in  a Hongkong  document : “Report  of  the  Committee  Appointed 
by  H.  E.  the  Governor  to  Consider  the  Colony’s  Position  with  Regard  to 
the  Obligations  Incurred  under  the  International  Opium  Convention  of 
1912.”  (See  Annex  IV). 

Reference  is  frequently  made  to  the  great  bulk  of  opium  production 
used  for  smoking  and  eating,  and  the  much  smaller  percentage  used  for 
“drugs.”  The  former  is  estimated  by  some  at  over  ninety  per  cent  and 
the  latter  at  less  than  ten  per  cent.  But  it  may  not  be  generally  realized 
that  the  narcotic  effect  of  the  smaller  percentage  in  “drug”  form  is  greater, 
and  worse  in  the  amount  of  harm  done,  than  the  large  percentage  smoked 
or  eaten. 

The  matter  of  over-emphasis  of  the  opium  smoking  problem,  and  the 
possible  reasons  therefor,  have  been  set  forth  at  this  length  because  I feel 
that  the  Western  world  should  re-adjust  its  perspective  and  give  more 
serious  attention  to  “drug”  control. 

The  International  Situation  and  the  United  States 

The  “limitation  of  production”  idea  espoused  by  the  United  States  at 
the  Geneva  Conference  was  basically  sound,  but  there  could  be  no  prac- 
ticable plan  for  putting  it  into  effect  immediately.  As  has  been  pointed 
out  herein,  there  are  several  necessary  preliminary  steps,  and,  if  I am 
correct  in  my  conclusions,  the  insistence  upon  a definite  date  for  prohibi- 
tion to  begin  was  not  justified.  Criticisms  of  United  States  policy  were 
directed  against  its  failure  to  be  informed,  or  its  unwillingness  to  face 
the  facts,  on  the  non-functioning  of  prohibition  in  the  Philippines  and 
general  conditions  in  the  Far  East,  and  its  over-emphasis  of  the  smoking 
problem  at  the  expense  of  the  “drug”  problem. 

This  country  needs  a better  informed  and  more  continuous  interna- 
tional policy  on  smoking  opium,  which  concerns  it  principally  because  of 
the  Philippines.  At  present  there  are  too  few  who  understand  the  prob- 
lem. These  insufficiently  informed  officials  are  likely  to  dictate  the  policy. 


14 


and  without  an  informed  public  to  act  as  a check,  they  may  err  in  judg- 
ment. The  intelligence  and  continuity  of  our  opium  policy  would  be 
greatly  improved  by  the  establishment  of  a permanent  bureau  in  the  State 
Department.  In  the  Foreign  Office  of  Japan,  for  instance,  there  is  a 
Treaty  Bureau  whose  duties  are  to  check  up  on  treaty  observance,  and 
the  “opium”  problem  receives  continuous  attention. 

It  is  not  difficult,  after  an  unofficial  investigation  of  opium  and  smug- 
gling in  the  Philippine  Islands,  to  understand  why  the  United  States  is 
somewhat  under  suspicion  internationally  for  failing  to  produce  Philippine 
opium  statistics.  (Such  statistics  as  are  now  available  will  be  found  in 
the  annexes.)  Illegal  opium  is  coming  into  the  Islands  in  such  quantities 
as  to  make  smoking  opium  procurable  freely  at  very  low  prices,  but  lack 
of  reliable  figures  on  the  number  of  Chinese  in  the  Islands  makes  any 
estimate  of  the  extent  of  opium  smoking  difficult. 

For  three  years  or  more  there  has  been  a persistent  request  at  Geneva 
that  the  United  States  furnish  some  figures  on  the  working  of  prohibition 
of  opium  smoking  in  the  Philippines;  for  a like  period  persons  interested 
in  the  subject  have  besieged  the  War  Department  in  Washington  for  such 
figures;  for  a year  and  a half  the  War  Department  has  been  asking  the 
Governor-General’s  office  in  Manila  for  this  information.  Why  it  has  not 
been  forthcoming  is  a mystery,  because  the  figures,  if  published,  would 
have  been  of  practically  no  value  to  anyone  without  an  independent  in- 
vestigation and  interpretation,  which  was  not  necessarily  implied  in  the 
requests ; and  such  investigation  and  interpretation,  if  made,  would  have 
largely,  if  not  entirely,  absolved  the  Governor-General’s  office  from  re- 
sponsibility for  the  failure  of  prohibition  to  function.  One  should  re- 
member, however,  that  opium  smoking  has  never  been  one  of  .the  major 
governmental  problems  in  the  Philippines. 

In  March,  1927,  it  was  announced  that  at  the  request  of  Major-General 
Frank  McIntyre,  head  of  the  Bureau  of  Insular  Affairs,  Governor-Gen- 
eral Wood  had  ordered  an  investigation  of  the  opium  traffic  in  the  Philip- 
pines.* 

PART  II. 

Needs  for  Further  Study 

The  approach  to  a study  of  the  “opium”  problem  has,  in  the  past,  been 
too  largely  statistical.  There  is  a woeful  lack  of  real  knowledge  of  the 
fundamentals  underlying  the  whole  problem  and  there  is  need  for  a thor- 
ough investigation  of  some  of  the  medical,  psychological,  financial,  political, 
administrative,  and  other  factors.  Among  these,  the  subjects  of  opium 
and  “manufactured  drugs”  are  so  interwoven  that  no  attempt  will  be 
made  to  separate  them. 

As  one  example  of  the  lack  of  knowledge,  let  us  consider  the  view  fre- 
quently expressed,  particularly  in  the  tropics;  it  is,  in  effect,  this:  “You 

^Further  details  on  the  Philippines  will  be  found  in  Annexes  1 and  II. 

15 


Westerners  are  trying  suddenly  to  do  away  with  opium  smoking  without 
knowing  why  it  is  indulged  in,  what  the  smoker  is  likely  to  turn  to  or 
what  desires  he  seeks  to  satisfy  and  without  offering  any  substitutes.  Go 
and  look  at  the  coolies  working  interminable  hours  in  jungle-clearing  and 
swamp  work,  in  heat  and  among  insects,  with  a few  handfuls  of  rice  as 
food,  with  nothing  to  do  outside  of  working  hours  but  sleep;  look  at  the 
rickshaw  coolie  and  the  chair  bearer  and  the  laborer;  they  are  all  driven 
by  economic  necessity  to  do  the  work  they  are  doing,  and  opium  smoking 
and  gambling  are  the  only  stimulants  or  relaxations  that  they  know  or 
have.”  In  this  connection  it  should  be  noted  that  in  one  of  the  tin  mines 
and  one  of  the  oil  industries  in  the  Netherlands  East  Indies  an  experiment 
has  been  made  with  one  moving  picture  a week,  with  the  purpose  of  ob- 
serving the  effect  on  opium  smoking — an  experiment  praiseworthy  in 
itself  but  inconclusive  because  of  its  limitations. 

In  the  consideration  of  a vice  which  affects,  among  others,  the  economi- 
cally submerged  class,  it  may  well  be  questioned  whether  it  be  a humane 
method  of  control  to  raise  the  price  of  the  commodity  that  satisfies  the 
craving  to  the  point  where  its  purchase  sinks  the  addict  still  deeper  in  the 
economic  mire.  What  the  connection  is  between  price  and  amount  con- 
sumed remains  uncertain,  and  it  is  one  of  the  questions  that  require  further 
study. 

An  attempt  will  be  made  here  to  indicate  (but  not  exhaustively)  the 
lines  along  which  investigations  may  be  undertaken.  To  many  of  the 
questions  propounded  I came  to  conclusions  in  the  course  of  my  studies; 
but,  deploring  as  I do  the  tendency  to  conclusions  arrived  at  without 
sufficient  basis,  I can  see  no  useful  purpose  in  suggesting  the  possible 
answers  I have  found  to  these  problems. 

Prevention  of  Addiction : Are  lack  of  social  facilities  responsible  for 
addiction?  Do  recreational  facilities  reduce  the  extent  of  addiction? 

Causes  of  Addiction : Voluntary  addiction,  involuntary  (as  in  cases 
of  continued  use  after  illness),  solicited.  If  voluntary,  what  desire  was 
it  sought  to  satisfy,  or  what  result  to  accomplish?  If  involuntary  or  solicited, 
what  classes  of  persons  are  responsible? 

Cure  of  Addiction:  What  are  the  best  methods?  Is  there  a possible 
need  not  only  of  removing  the  craving  but  of  having  trained  psychologists 
build  up  control?  Is  there  a possibility  of  substituting  harmless  habits? 
What  classes  are  curable  or  incurable?  What  is  the  effect  of  age  on 
curability  ? Should  addicts  be  reportable  by  physicians,  with  requirements 
similar  to  infectious  diseases?  After  the  lapse  of  a certain  time  after  re- 
porting or  registration,  should  voluntary  or  forcible  detention  be  required 
until  the  addict  is  cured? 

Pharmaceutical  Aspects : Are  there  non-habit-forming  substitutes  for 
“manufactured  drugs”  in  cases  where  the  latter  are  now  properly  pre- 
scribed? Are  there  non-habit-forming  substitutes  for  raw  opium  in  cases 
where  it  is  self-prescribed,  as  is  frequently  the  case  in  India? 

16 


Substitutes  When  Supplies  Are  Restricted:  Do  opium  smokers  when 
restricted  turn  to  liquor  or  drugs? 

Addiction  and  Public  Safety : What  is  the  prevalence  in  police,  fire  or 
health  departments,  in  armies  or  navies,  among  doctors  and  nurses,  among 
motormen,  engineers  and  chauffeurs,  among  criminals,  etc.? 

Cost  of  Addiction:  What  is  the  cost  to  individuals  in  loss  of  earning 
power  and  in  outlay  to  satisfy  their  craving?  What  is  the  cost  to  the 
state  in  maintenance  of  police  and  preventive  service,  jails,  hospitals,  etc.? 

Smuggling:  Are  not  various  agencies  involved  in  every  large  smug- 
gling operation,  such  as  a principal,  a banking  institution,  an  insurance 
company,  a transportation  company,  a broker  or  agent,  distributors  and 
corrupt  officials?  If  ship  owners  can  be  punished  by  loss  of  registry  and 
captains  by  cancellation  of  license,  if  insurance  in  illegal  transactions  can 
be  prevented  by  legislation  or  agreement  among  insurers,  cannot  bank 
loans  on  illicit  goods  be  prevented  by  some  means?  Could  not  friendly 
governments  like  those  of  the  Netherlands  East  Indies,  British  Malaya 
and  Hongkong,  which  lose  millions  from  smuggling  “competition”  and 
have  their  control  interfered  with,  combine  in  the  judicious  expenditure 
of  money  to  run  down  smuggling  syndicates?  How  do  large  quantities 
of  “manufactured  goods”  get  from  a factory  into  the  hands  of  smugglers? 
Would  legislative  inquiries  in  each  country  throw  some  light  upon  these 
questions  ? 

Political  and  Administrative  Questions:  What  is  the  proper  depart- 
ment in  a government  for  opium  control?  What  are  the  corruption  fac- 
tors? What  improper  influences  do  trade  interests  exercise  on  govern- 
ment policies?  (For  an  answer  to  this  question  so  far  as  Switzerland  is 
concerned,  see  excerpts  from  Prof.  Rappard’s  book  quoted  in  that  part 
of  Annex  I devoted  to  “manufactured  drugs.”) 

Financial  Questions : What  is  the  effect  of  price  on  the  amount  con- 
sumed? What  substitute  taxes  are  possible  in  countries  having  large 
opium  revenues? 

Laws  and  Penalties : What  changes  in  laws  and  penalties  are  neces- 
sary? What  changes  in  extradition  treaties?  What  is  the  effect  of  extra- 
territoriality? How  can  bonding  successfully  become  a preventive  meas- 
ure? What  of  the  necessity  of  educating  public  opinion  to  approve  of 
stricter  penalties  by  classifying  the  drug  peddler  and  drug  smuggler  with, 
for  example,  the  poisoner  of  a well,  and  to  consider  corrupt  officials  of  a 
preventive  service  as  quasi  traitors? 

This  whole  investigation  is  an  ideal  one  for  some  foundation  to  under- 
take, with  the  purpose  of  turning  over  its  conclusions  to  the  League  of 
Nations.  My  reason  for  suggesting  a non-League  body  for  the  research 
should  be  apparent  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  League,  in  any  in- 
vestigation, is  hampered  by  certain  political  disabilities  and  the  embarrass- 
ment of  not  being  able  to  question  official  statements.  There  is  no  reason, 
however,  why  the  League  should  not  study  the  medical  questions  through 
its  Health  Section. 


17 


Unreliability  of  Testimony 

To  the  student  of  the  “opium”  problem,  a few  words  of  caution  re- 
garding the  unreliability  of  testimony  will  not  be  amiss.  The  written 
and  spoken  words  on  the  subject  of  “opium”  control  are  highly  con- 
troversial, and  so  saturated  with  bias,  self-interest,  so-called  statistics, 
and  misstatements,  that  an  intelligent  handling  of  the  question  is  difficult. 

The  interest  is  usually  one  of  profit,  or  a saving  in  taxation,  or  the 
perpetuation  of  a job  or  custom.  The  bias  is  usually  national,  official  or 
emotional,  or  sometimes  a mixture  of  several.  In  China,  for  example,  the 
problem  has  become  too  political  and  too  mixed  with  anti-foreign  feeling; 
and  when  questioned  about  their  own  illicit  production  and  exportation, 
the  Chinese  usually  stress  the  illegal  importation  of  foreign  “drugs,”  from 
which  the  country  is  suffering  much. 

Misstatements  deserve  a more  extended  treatment,  and  the  three  prin- 
cipal “apologies”  in  the  past  for  “opium”  trade  in  the  Far  East  will  be 
taken  as  examples:  (a)  that  most  of  the  eating  of  opium  in  India 
was  for  medicinal  purposes  where  doctors  were  scarce;  (b)  that  severe 
restrictive  measures  on  the  smoking  of  opium  in  the  East  Indies  and 
Malaya  were  not  practicable  because  they  would  interfere  with  Chinese 
immigration;  and  (c)  that  revenue  was  not  a factor  in  determining  policy. 

The  Indian  “apology”  no  longer  holds  since  investigators  about  two 
years  ago  found  that  the  abnormally  large  use  was  in  the  congested  cities 
where  doctors  were  accessible. 

Regarding  the  immigration  point,  I inquired  of  a number  of  large  em- 
ployers of  labor,  of  ships’  officers  in  the  trade  of  carrying  coolies,  and  of 
persons  who  had  made  a study  of  Chinese  immigration.  Not  one  of 
them  thought  that  the  opium  smoking  question  entered  into  the  supply  of 
coolie  labor  in  the  East  Indies  and  Malaya.  Most  of  them  gave  as  their 
reason  that  the  sources  of  coolie  labor  were  so  extensive  that  a sufficient 
supply  could  be  had,  either  of  non-smokers,  or  of  those  who  would  do 
without  smoking ; but,  added  several  persons,  in  effect,  the  smokers 
would  not  let  restrictions  influence  them  against  migrating,  for  they  would 
expect  to  get  opium  in  spite  of  any  restrictions.  Even  most  of  the  gov- 
ernment officials  with  whom  I spoke  stated  freely  that  there  was  no  con- 
nection between  opium  and  immigration.  In  this  connection  Dr.  Wu 
Lien-Teh  writes  in  “Public  Health  Aspects  of  the  Narcotic  Problem,” 
1925 : “The  oft  repeated  misrepresentation  that  unless  Chinese  coolies 
obtained  their  opium  there  would  be  a shortage  of  labor  in  British  Malaya 
and  the  East  Indies  is  disproved  by  the  fact  that  during  the  World  War 
95,000  coolies  were  recruited  from  North  China  for  service  in  France. 
‘Not  a man  smoked  opium’,  reported  the  British  medical  officer  in  charge, 
‘they  were  contented  and  would  volunteer  again’.” 

As  for  revenue  being  a factor  in  determining  policy,  a number  of  offi- 
cials were  equally  frank  in  admitting  that  it  undoubtedly  was  a factor,  but 
stated  that  it  was  not  the  decisive  one.  Said  one : “Where  the  monopoly 
is  run  from  a finance  department  and  the  profits  go  into  the  general  budget, 

18 


revenue  is  bound  to  be  one  of  the  important  considerations,  particularly 
in  hard  times.  If  the  consumer’s  interests  are  to  be  paramount,  the  con- 
trol should  be  directed  by  a sociologist  or  physician,  not  by  a financier.” 

So  far  as  statistics  are  concerned,  any  person  familiar  ■with  the  Orient 
will  know  that  figures  on  Chinese  population,  number  of  smokers,  etc.,  are 
altogether  unreliable ; and  that  statistics  on  seizures,  arrests,  etc.,  are  only 
an  indication  that  a certain  minimum  quantity  of  “opium”  was  being 
smuggled  and  a certain  minimum  number  of  persons  were  caught  in  the 
alleged  violation  of  the  law.  In  short,  some  are  unreliable,  and  some  mean- 
ingless without  interpretation. 

Education  and  Propaganda 

The  difference  between  education  and  propaganda  must  be  clearly  recog- 
nized. Education  deals  with  the  spreading  of  accurate  knowledge  and 
the  inducing  of  action  based  upon  logical  and  reasoning  thinking,  while 
propaganda  may  be  based  on  inaccuracies  or  exaggerations,  the  object  of 
which  is  usually  to  induce  action  based  upon  emotion.  Before  there  can 
be  education,  however,  the  educators  must  be  educated,  and  not  only  the 
educator,  and  the  individual,  child  and  adult,  and  the  collective  public, 
but,  at  the  same  time,  the  statesmen  and  legislators  and  delegates  who 
translate  desires  into  action. 

In  the  field  of  “opium”  the  best  propaganda  is  that  which  arouses  fear, — 
fear  of  consequences  to  one’s  self,  to  one’s  family,  to  one’s  country. 
Probably  the  best  form  is  the  romance,  whether  in  book  form  or  on  the 
stage  or  screen,  the  aim  being  to  do  what  “Uncle  Tom’s  Cabin”  did  for 
the  anti-slavery  campaign,  and  what  several  books  published  in  England 
just  before  the  war  did  for  preparedness  there. 

Public  Opinion 

Ordinarily  “public  opinion”  means  a common  viewpoint  on  a subject, 
expressed  by  a considerable  portion  of  the  people.  “Publicity”  is  naturally 
one  of  the  greatest  means  of  arousing  or  creating  public  opinion.  As  a 
general  rule  progressive  action  in  a Western  country,  on  “opium”  matters, 
depends  upon  the  extent  of  public  opinion  on  the  subject,  and  this  extent 
in  turn  is  dependent  upon  the  gravity  of  the  situation,  the  publicity  it  re- 
ceives, the  emotional  response  and  the  social  sense.  In  emotional  response 
I include  action  induced  by  idealism,  piety,  “sentimentality”  or  similar 
urges;  and  in  social  sense  principally  the  idea  of  “being  one’s  brother’s 
keeper.”  So  far  as  the  influence  of  public  opinion  in  the  Western  coun- 
tries is  concerned,  at  least  those  in  which  “manufactured  drugs”  are  pro- 
duced, one  may  say  roughly  that  they  stand  in  the  following  order : the 
United  States,  Great  Britain,  Holland,  Germany,  Switzerland,  and 
Prance.  I do  not  know  Japan  well  enough  to  attempt  an  estimate  of  the 
value  of  public  opinion,  but  if  the  number  of  newspapers  and  magazines  in 
Japan  is  any  criterion,  she  can  be  classed  with  the  Western  countries. 
Those  persons  who  are  interested  in  seeing  progress  toward  the  control 

19 


and  limitation  envisaged  by  the  Hague  and  Geneva  Conferences  would  do 
well,  therefore,  to  develop  a public  opinion  in  the  countries  where  progress 
is  unsatisfactory.  The  force  of  public  opinion  may  either  drive  or  “shame” 
a country  into  action,  or  make  the  position  of  its  delegates  in  Geneva,  or 
elsewhere  at  international  conferences,  untenable.  A specially  useful  and 
constructive  bit  of  work  would  be  to  institute  an  inquiry  in  each  country 
on  the  extent  to  which  treaty  obligations  on  “opium”  are  being  lived  up 
to,  and  arouse  a public  opinion  in  favor  of  their  performance. 

In  conclusion  it  should  be  remembered  that  it  is  at  international  “opium” 
conferences  that  knowledge  is  most  needed ; yet  it  is  safe  to  say  that  not 
half  of  the  delegates  in  Geneva  in  1924-25  really  knew  the  subject.  Some 
were  even  chosen  merely  because  of  their  nearness  to  Geneva ! Such  a 
conference  ought  not  to  be  a school ; it  ought  to  be  made  up  of  delegates 
who  know;  or,  at  least,  there  should  be  ready  for  them  findings  of  facts 
and  conditions,  impartially  arrived  at.  Such  a conference,  moreover,  is 
not  a place  to  develop  truth.  The  public  meetings  are  utilized  by  many 
of  the  delegates  to  make  speeches  for  home  consumption,  quite  often  full 
of  “hokum”  and  very  frequently  bearing  no  relation  to  the  facts;  yet  the 
etiquette  of  international  conferences  is  such  that  truth  and  good  faith 
can  never  be  questioned, — in  public ! 

Knowledge  is  lacking  both  on  conditions  and  fundamentals.  Accord- 
ingly two  important  matters  pressing  for  action  are  the  prompt  acquisi- 
tion of  more  knowledge  on  the  whole  subject,  and  the  presentation  of  it 
to  the  next  international  conference.  If  some  public  spirited  body,  or 
foundation,  would  finance  the  undertaking,  world  wide  studies  could  be 
instituted,  and  an  impartial  group  inside  each  country  could  start  an  in- 
quiry into  domestic  conditions.  Then,  before  the  conference,  a body  of 
non-official  but  representative  men  who  would  command  general  respect 
for  impartiality,  chosen  from  various  nationalities  and  possessing  among 
them  the  varied  knowledge  necessary  to  consider  all  aspects  of  the  prob- 
lem, could  examine  all  the  findings,  make  a trip  around  the  world  for  the 
necessary  verifications,  and  present  their  conclusions  to  the  conference. 
(There  are  too  many  possible  methods  of  choosing  the  members  of  such 
a body  to  make  a discussion  here  profitable.)  There  would  be  much  more 
likelihood  of  such  a conference  outlining  a convention  that  all  countries 
could  unhesitatingly  endorse. 

HERBERT  L.  MAY 


March  25,  1927. 


20 


ANNEX  I 


Detailed  Report  of  the  Far  Eastern  Investigation  on 
Smoking  Opium 

The  material  in  this  annex  is  supplementary  to  the  fore- 
going report.  It  presents  in  greater  detail  information  and 
opinions  relating  to  opium  smoking  gathered  by  the  writer 
in  the  course  of  his  trip  through  the  Far  East.  Conditions 
in  the  various  countries  visited  are  discussed  in  relation  to 
methods  of  control,  i.  e.,  prohibition  and  the  several  types 
of  government  monopoly.  Special  sections  deal  with  opium 
eating  in  India  and  control  of  “manufactured  drugs.” 

I.  SMOKING  OPIUM  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 
A.  Countries  in  which  prohibition  of  opium  smoking  is  in  force: 

1.  The  Philippines. 

To  students  of  prohibitory  laws  as  a means  of  bringing  a vice  under 
control  it  will  be  no  surprise  to  learn  that  prohibition  of  opium  smoking 
in  the  Philippines  does  not  in  fact  prohibit.  Any  one  who  wishes  to  buy 
prepared  opium  can  buy  it  at  a moderate  price.  The  “market  price”  for 
grade  two  “Amoy”  is  five  pesos  per  tael ; grade  one,  seven  pesos ; “Hong- 
kong” grade  two,  twelve  pesos ; and  “Hongkong”  grade  one,  sixteen  pesos. 
These  were  the  prices  prevailing  in  Manila  in  December,  1926.  There  is 
no  fixed  standard  for  any  of  these  grades.  Apparently  the  so-called 
Amoy  opium  is  grown  and  “boiled”  in  China,  and  the  Hongkong  opium 
is  made  principally  of  Chinese  opium  with  occasionally  a small  admixture 
of  Persian  or  Indian.  The  latter  appears  to  be  manufactured  mostly  in 
Macao,  or  in  and  about  Kwang  Chow  Wan,  the  French  leased  territory 
in  South  China.  It  is  generally  stated  that  practically  no  Indian  opium 
has  found  its  way  into  the  Philippines  for  about  two  years  past.  The 
opium  is  smuggled  in,  at  regular  ports  and  other  places,  from  Amoy, 
Hongkong,  Macao,  Kwang  Chow  Wan,  British  North  Borneo,  and  For- 
mosa. Frequent  arrests  and  convictions  by  the  local  police  and  con- 
stabulary, and  seizures  by  the  customs  authorities,  must  of  course  have 
some  deterrent  effect,  and  influence  the  price  somewhat ; but  a comparison 
of  the  price  with  that  prevailing  in  other  parts  of  the  Far  East  would 
indicate  that  there  is  no  difficulty  in  having  the  supply  keep  pace  with 
the  demand.  Opium  is  not  the  only  thing  smuggled  in  on  a considerable 
scale ; there  is  a “market  price”  for  smuggling  in  a Chinaman  via  British 
North  Borneo,  and  apparently  he  is  privileged  to  bring  in  a supply  of 
opium  with  him  on  his  person. 


21 


It  must  be  remembered  that  the  opium  smoking  problem  in  the  Phil- 
ippines is  not  one  of  great  magnitude  compared  with  that  in  most  of  the 
opium  smoking  countries  of  the  Far  East.  The  islands  have  a total 
population  of  about  12,000,000.  So  little  is  known  of  the  extent  of  the 
Chinese  population  that  the  following  estimates  were  given  me  by  various 
official  and  semi-official  sources:  40,000;  60,000;  70,000;  96,000;  130,000. 
From  one  source  I learned  that  there  are  about  10,000  Chinese  per  year 
coming  into  Manila  by  means  more  or  less  legal,  and  about  6,000  to 
8,000  per  year  leave  that  port.  Similar  conditions  exist  at  other  ports; 
the  number  smuggled  in  is  unknown.  The  figure  of  96,000  for  the 
Chinese  population  came  from  a Chinese  source  generally  credited  with 
knowledge  on  the  subject,  but  I am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  actual 
figure  is  considerably  larger.  While  most  of  the  smoking  is  among  the 
Chinese,  the  Filipinos  who  have  social  contact  with  the  families  in  which 
there  is  smoking  are  quite  likely  to  acquire  the  vice ; and  there  is  a con- 
siderable nCimber  of  smokers  among  the  native  tribes  in  the  southern 
islands. 

Few  statistics  gathered  or  compiled  by  natives  in  the  Islands  are  re- 
liable. The  figures  are  frequently  “doctored”  to  prove  the  efficiency  of 
the  department  whose  work  they  reflect.  However,  there  is  no  reason 
why  the  figures  on  seizures,  arrests,  and  fines  should  not  be  reasonably 
accurate.  As  such  figures  for  the  Philippines  have  not  been  heretofore 
available,  I am  presenting  in  another  annex  such  as  were  furnished  me 
by  the  various  departments. 

Among  the  many  well  informed  people  whom  I interviewed  in  Manila, 
the  following  opinions  prevailed : ( 1 ) that  the  government  does  not  con- 
sider opium  one  of  its  major  problems;  (2)  that  the  government  is  doing 
all  that  might  reasonably  be  expected  to  enforce  the  laws;  (3)  that  the 
enforcement  has  probably  tended  to  keep  the  evil  from  spreading  out  of 
all  bounds.  The  chief  reasons  given  for  failure  of  the  law  are:  (1)  lack 
of  appropriated  funds,  including  those  for  patrol  service,  rewards,  secret 
service,  and  personnel  in  general;  (2)  “graft,”  some  believing  that  the 
prohibition  law  corrupts  the  officials,  and  others  taking  a more  cynical  view ; 
(3)  the  extent  of  the  coast  line  and  the  proximity  of  other  producing 
and  smoking  countries.  Those  giving  this  last  as  the  chief  reason  for 
failure  believe  that  no  matter  how  great  the  appropriation  and  how  little 
the  “graft,”  practically  the  same  quantities  would  get  in,  but  at  higher 
prices.  In  connection  with  this  reason,  a few  figures  that  were  furnished 
me  should  be  considered : There  are  some  7,083  islands  in  the  Philippine 
Archipelago,  and  the  approximate  length  of  the  coast  line  is  10,850  miles 
(the  coast  line  of  the  United  States  is  12,877  miles).  Note  also  the  dis- 
tances from  the  Islands  to  the  nearest  point  of  other  smoking  and  pro- 
ducing countries:  from  British  North  Borneo,  about  10  miles  (from  the 
principal  one  of  the  Borneo  group  about  18  miles)  ; from  Formosa,  81 
miles;  from  the  Chinese  mainland,  325  miles;  and  from  Indo-China,  580 
miles. 


22 


The  patrol  boat  service  has  for  some  years  been  limited  to  one  boat, 
coal  burning,  which  is  rated  nominally  at  ten  knots,  but  actually  makes 
about  eight. 

In  one  of  the  countries  outside  of  the  Philippines  which  I visited,  I 
was  told  that  seized  correspondence  indicated  that  some  of  the  men  in 
the  preventive  service  of  the  Philippines  were  offering  to  deliver  opium 
“to  any  address  in  Manila”  for  a charge  of  five  pesos  per  tael.  I have 
had  no  means  of  checking  the  accuracy  of  this  report. 

The  following  quotations  from  the  Hongkong  “Report  of  the  Superin- 
tendent of  Imports  and  Exports  for  the  Year  1925”  throws  further  light 
upon  this  situation: 

“Manila  and  the  Philippines” 

“Enquiries  resulting  from  three  large  seizures  of  opium  and  dangerous 
drugs  revealed  the  huge  extent  of  the  trade  in  prepared  opium  between 
Macau,  China,  and  the  Philippine  Islands.  Large  quantities  have  been 
imported  from  Macau  already  packed  up  with  other  goods  and  only  trans- 
shipped in  Hongkong.  In  one  case,  three  mail  bags  belonging  to  the 
U.  S.  A.  Post  Office  were  seized  in  the  General  Post  Office ; the  whole  of 
the  contents  proved  to  be  prepared  opium  and  drugs ; investigations  proved 
that  employees  in  the  General  Post  Office  here  and  in  Manila  had  been 
suborned,  and  that  the  parcel  post  had  been  extensively  used  for  the 
conveyance  of  prepared  opium  and  drugs.  Evidence  was  also  found 
pointing  to  a large  trade  in  morphia  pills  between  Amoy,  and  Manila  and 
Cebu.  Frequent  references  were  found,  in  documents  discovered,  to  the 
aid  rendered  by  the  employees  of  the  Post  Office  and  Customs  in  the 
Islands  in  aiding  the  introduction  of  opium  and  drugs.  A very  large 
number  of  names  and  addresses  of  opium  and  drug  importers  were  dis- 
covered, and  the  information  was  at  once  passed  on  to  the  United  States 
authorities.  In  one  case,  a series  of  letters  from  smugglers  in  the  Phil- 
ippines was  intercepted  mentioning  large  consignments  of  opium ; during 
a period  of  two  weeks  only  mention  was  made  of  orders  for  31,300  taels 
of  opium.  It  was  always  realized  that  the  traffic  in  opium  with  the 
Philippines  was  on  an  extensive  scale,  but  the  actual  extent  judged  from 
the  investigations  of  three  firms  of  smugglers  only  far  surpassed  all 
expectations.  If  most  of  this  opium  was  consumed  in  the  islands,  then 
it  must  be  assumed  that  the  consumption  of  opium  by  the  Chinese  popu- 
lation must  be  taken  to  be  at  least  as  great  as  it  is  in  this  Colony,  and 
that  the  suppression  of  opium  there  has  meant  only  the  transference  of 
trade  to  underground  channels  and  consequently  widespread  corruption. 
These  facts  seem  to  prove  the  impossibility  of  suppression  while  supplies 
continue  abundant,  and  the  demand  remains  unabated.  The  origin  of 
this  opium  is  Macau  (and  Kwang  Chow  Wan  to  some  extent),  for  the 
best  grades ; Kwang  Chow  Wan  and  Amoy  for  the  inferior  grades, 
Amoy  has  supplied  more  and  more  of  the  inferior  grades  at  a cheap 
price.  Whereas  in  former  years  the  demand  was  for  the  best  grade  of 

23 


Macau  opium,  recently,  while  supplies  of  Macau  opium  have  probably 
not  decreased,  a large  amount  of  inferior  prepared  opium  of  Chinese 
origin  has  been  entering.  One  method  of  smuggling  was  discovered 
here;  goods  were  purchased  locally  and  packed  into  cases,  these  were 
sent  off  to  a junk  in  the  harbour  together  with  some  empty  cases,  the 
prepared  opium  was  then  brought  from  another  junk,  some  of  the  goods 
taken  out,  and  the  opium  packed  in  the  cases  with  the  goods,  the  cases 
after  being  fastened  up  were  taken  off  to  a ship  about  to  leave  for  Cebu, 
and  shipped  as  cargo  in  the  usual  way,  special  stowage  having  been  ar- 
ranged with  the  connivance  of  the  stevedores.” 

In  a private  unpublished  memorandum  submitted  to  his  government  in 
1922  by  a delegate  to  a Far  Eastern  conference  on  opium  and  other 
matters,  a copy  of  which  memorandum  was  given  to  me,  the  following 
appears : 

“There  is  also  said  to  be  a flourishing  trade  in  opium  dross  between 
the  Sandhakan  (British  North  Borneo)  coast  and  the  Philippines  in 
which  the  American  revenue  boats  manned  by  Filipinos  participate.” 

2.  China. 

Three  questions  are  of  special  interest  in  China  today,  where  the 
prohibition  against  growing  poppy  and  smoking  opium  is  still  nominally 
in  force:  What  is  the  extent  of  the  cultivation  and  smoking  of  opium; 
what,  if  any,  is  the  so-called  public  opinion  on  the  subject;  and  when 
can  control  of  the  evil  be  expected? 

The  Chinese  have  no  passion  for  statistics,  as  have  some  of  the  Occi- 
dental peoples ; in  fact  they  have  rather  a horror  of  them  as  being 
associated  with  an  increase  in  taxation.  Neither  Chinese  statistics  nor 
statistics  on  China  are  reliable.  However,  about  twenty  years  ago  it  was 
estimated  by  an  authority  on  the  subject  that  about  two  per  cent  of  the 
population,  or  roughly  eight  million  persons,  smoked  opium.  The  general 
opinion  expressed  today  is  that  the  extent  of  smoking  is  about  the  same 
as  in  1906, — much  more  extensive  in  some  provinces  where  an  opium 
pipe  is  almost  as  cheap  as  a cigarette,  and  where  old  and  young  men  and 
women  smoke ; much  less  so  in  some  others,  where  it  is  chiefly  the  older 
persons  among  the  military  leaders,  officials,  and  well-to-do  who  indulge. 
As  to  the  poppy  growing  in  China  today,  no  one  knows  the  extent,  and 
there  are  no  means  of  knowing;  probably  over  10,000  tons  and  less  than 
25,000  tons  of  opium  are  produced.  It  has  been  estimated  that  in  1906 
there  were  22,588  tons  of  opium  consumed  in  China,  of  which  seven- 
eighths  (about  20,000  tons)  were  grown  in  China.  (“Memorandum  Re- 
garding the  Restriction  of  Opium  in  Hongkong  and  China”  by  Sir  F. 
Lugard,  1908-1909,  in  which  Sir  John  Jordan  is  quoted  for  part  of  these 
figures.)  This  was  just  before  China  started  on  the  strict  enforcement 
of  her  prohibition  laws.  Dr.  Wu  Lien-Teh  estimates  that  in  1923  there 
were  about  8,000  tons  of  opium  smoked  in  China  by  2,250,000  smokers 
(origin  of  opium  not  given.)  A number  of  people  with  some  knowledge 

24 


on  the  subject  were  questioned  by  me.  While  a few  thought  the  1926  pro- 
duction greater  than  that  of  1906,  and  one  or  two  believed  it  to  be  as 
great,  the  majority  estimated  it  at  somewhat  less.  One  person  connected 
with  an  anti-opium  movement  was  quoted  as  believing  the  1926  produc- 
tion very  much  less  than  the  1906.  The  use  of  imported  “drugs”  may 
account  for  at  least  part  of  the  decrease  in  production  and  smoking. 
Several  persons  expressed  the  opinion  that  at  least  one-half  of  the  selling 
price  of  opium  to  the  consumer  in  China  is  represented  in  tax  or  custom’s 
duty,  license  fees,  or  “squeeze,”  principally  the  last,  or  all  of  these.  It 
would  seem  that  $200,000,000  (Mexican)  is  a fair  guess  at  the  annual 
stake  for  which  the  “war  lords,”  provincial  governors,  high  central  govern- 
ment officials,  and  petty  politicians  have  been  playing  of  late  years.  It 
has  been  publicly  stated  in  Shanghai  that  the  opium  “revenues”  in  Kiangsu 
are  worth  $40,000,000  a year;  for  Kwangtung,  in  which  the  city  of  Can- 
ton is  situated,  the  China  Year  Book  for  1926  estimates  the  annual 
“revenue”  from  opium,  gambling,  and  brothels  at  $60,000,000.  Both 
figures  are  guesses,  and  are  probably  exaggerated. 

None  of  the  above  figures  are  worth  anything  at  all  in  themselves ; it 
makes  no  real  difference  in  the  problem  whether  China  is  growing  10,000 
tons  or  25,000  tons  of  opium,  or  is  extracting  one  hundred  million  or 
three  hundred  million  dollars  in  so-called  revenue  from  it.  The  figures 
are  of  importance  only  as  indicating  in  general  the  magnitude  of  the 
poppy  growth,  which  has  an  intimate  bearing  on  the  national  and  world 
problem  of  control,  and  as  indicating  furthermore  the  size  of  the  interest 
in  keeping  the  opium  problem  in  China  just  where  it  is  today.  The 
ideal  situation,  the  world  over,  for  “squeeze,”  is  just  this : a big  supply, 
a big  demand,  and  prohibition  law. 

Beginning  in  1907,  China  succeeded,  by  legal  and  extra-legal  methods 
and  by  “fire  and  sword”  and  other  means  which  could  hardly  be  dupli- 
cated in  any  other  country,  in  bringing  under  control  and  suppressing 
much  of  the  opium  production  and  opium  smoking,  all  in  a surprisingly 
short  time.  As  to  how  and  why  the  recrudescence  of  poppy-growing  came 
about,  the  opinions  are  conflicting,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  disturbed 
economic  conditions  attendant  upon  sudden  and  drastic  changes  in  a 
crop  and  business  running  into  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  in  value, 
and  the  taking  out  of  the  hands  of  the  political  leaders  of  millions  of 
dollars  of  “squeeze,”  were  both  factors  in  the  unrest  that  brought  about 
revolution  and  civil  war;  and  that  much  of  the  fighting,  no  matter  what 
the  rallying  cry  for  the  masses,  was  for  control  of  the  spoils,  among  the 
richest  of  which  was  the  opium  revenue.  While  it  is  doubtless  true  that 
many  of  the  “war  lords”  forced  the  growing  of  poppy  so  as  to  provide 
the  sinews  of  war,  it  is  equally  true  that  thousands  of  farmers  welcomed 
the  opportunity  to  grow  a profitable  crop,  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
people  the  opportunity  to  smoke  opium  again  unmolested.  Recently  the 
exactions  of  the  “tax”  collector  have  been  so  great  and  the  price  of  opium 
so  low,  that  the  poppy  is  at  present  hardly  a profitable  crop  in  many  parts 

25 


of  the  country.  The  “face-saving”  methods  of  getting  revenue  out  of 
a prohibited  article  are  various ; in  some  cases  agricultural  lands  are  taxed 
so  high  that  only  a poppy  crop  is  economically  possible ; in  some  cases 
the  military  official  orders  poppy  grown  and  the  civil  side  of  the  same 
authority  imposes  a fine ; the  “suppression  monopoly”  plan  will  be  alluded 
to  later. 

Is  there  a public  opinion  against  the  evil?  That  dependjs  upon  the 
definition  of  public  opinion.  There  is  most  probably  not  a majority 
opinion  against  it.  There  is  a very  strong  opinion  against  it  among  the 
Christian  and  educational  groups,  among  those  who  come  in  contact  with 
the  financial  ruin  of  some  addicts ; an  opinion  against  it  among  many 
young  people.  And  yet,  one  newspaper  writer  said  that  the  student 
bodies  had  passed  resolutions  upon  practically  every  subject  of  national 
interest,  but  not  on  opium.  Just  at  this  time  China  is  so  engrossed  in 
matters  that  it  deems  of  greater  importance,  that  there  is  hardly  enough 
thought  being  given  to  the  matter  of  opium  to  crystallize  into  a public 
opinion.  However,  even  under  normal  conditions,  China  is  so  con- 
stituted politically  and  socially  that  an  effective  public  opinion  will  prob- 
ably be  engendered,  if  at  all,  only  by  a campaign  of  education  and  propa- 
ganda undertaken  by  a small  central  group.  Heretofore,  an  opinion 
against  foreign  opium  has  been  mistakenly  figured  in  the  anti-opium 
column. 

What  are  the  probabilities  of  control  in  the  near  future?  Admittedly, 
until  there  is  a strong  central  government  there  is  no  hope ; and  some  of 
the  politically  wise  put  that  consummation  ahead  not  by  months,  but  by 
years.  Of  the  two  outstanding  groups  at  present,  the  so-called  Man- 
churian and  Cantonese  groups,  less  seems  to  be  expected  of  the  former 
for  a variety  of  reasons:  They  comprise  more  of  the  “old  crowd,”  they  are 
less  actuated  by  principle,  they  are  said  to  have  more  smokers  among 
the  military  leaders,  and,  the  vice  being  more  a southern  than  a northern 
one,  they  would  be  the  more  willing  to  profit  by  it  if  victorious.  As  for 
the  Cantonese  group,  dominated  by  the  Kuomintang,  or  People’s  Party, 
they  have  established  a government  monopoly  in  Kwangtung,  and  have 
the  evident  intention  of  doing  the  same  in  all  territory  that  comes  under 
their  control. 

AVhat  the  Canton  district  is  doing  in  the  matter  of  control  may  be  an 
indication  for  the  future.  When  I was  in  Canton  in  December,  1926, 
this  is  in  effect  what  a spokesman  for  the  Nationalist  group  said : The 
war  lords  had  forced  the  growth  of  the  poppy,  contrary  to  the  law ; the 
Cantonese  were  gradually  restoring  law  and  order,  and  had  done  so  al- 
ready in  this  province;  they  could  not  upset  economic  conditions  by 
destroying  poppy  crops,  but  would  bring  them  under  control  and  grad- 
ually have  them  changed;  they  had  organized  a suppression  monopoly 
which  was  going  to  bring  about  prohibition  in  four  years,  in  the  mean- 
time licensing  the  transportation,  selling,  and  smoking  of  opium ; that  of 
course  until  the  government  finances  were  stabilized,  they  would  have 

26 


to  rely  somewhat  on  opium  revenue,  but  that  they  would  not  stultify 
themselves  by  continuing  one  day  longer  than  necessary.  From  other 
sources,  not  Chinese,  I was  informed  that : There  is  a “transportation 
office”  formed  by  Chinese  merchants,  who  have  the  monopoly  of  trans- 
porting opium;  stamps  must  be  affixed  at  the  rate  of  thirty  cents  per 
tael ; there  is  a “suppression  monopoly”  which,  under  the  guise  of  con- 
trol, has  selling  offices  and  shops  in  Canton,  and  sells  the  right  of  sale 
for  the  outlying  districts  to  a monopoly;  smokers  are  licensed;  the  retail 
selling  price  of  prepared  opium  is  $1.00  (Mex.)  for  two  mace;  it  is 
estimated  that  the  local  revenue  from  opium  is  over  $250,000  (Mex.) 
per  month. 

I obtained  a copy  of  the  “Anti-Opium  Regulations”  and  “Rules  for 
Applying  for  Smoking  Licenses,”  which  are  printed  in  another  annex. 
My  information  as  to  both  documents  was  that  the  date  of  promul- 
gation was  August  1,  1925.  I arranged  for  the  purchase  of  some  opium 
at  an  official  shop ; thereon  appeared  “Opium  Revenue  Inspection  Stamps” 
issued  by  the  “Anti-Opium  Bureau  of  the  Finance  Ministry.”  It  might 
be  noted  here  that  through  the  kindness  of  officials  in  various  parts  of  the 
Orient,  I had  the  opportunity  of  inspecting  seized  packages  coming  from 
various  parts  of  China.  All  sorts  of  stamps  were  on, — “inspection”  stamps, 
“examination”  stamps,  “import  certificate”  stamps,  quite  a number  of 
“anti-opium  bureau”  and  “suppression  monopoly”  stamps,  and  in  some 
cases  a single  package  had  two  or  more  different  kinds  of  stamps. 

From  an  American  consular  source  comes  the  following  information  re- 
ferring to  a portion  of  Manchuria: 

“The  ‘Sheng  Ching  Shih  Pao’,  a well  informed  Chinese  paper  under 
Japanese  control,  reports  under  date  of  December  15th,  1926,  that  the 
Chinese  authorities  in  Fengtien  contemplate  the  establishment  of  an  offi- 
cial opium  monopoly,  although  in  accordance  with  the  usual  Chinese  face- 
saving device,  the  official  name  of  the  monopoly  is  to  be  the  ‘Bureau  for 
the  Prevention  of  Opium’. 

“The  paper  states  that  the  decision  to  inaugurate  this  establishment  is 
due  entirely  to  the  great  need  for  increased  revenue  which  need  has  been 
caused  by  the  large  expenditures  incurred  by  Marshal  Chang’s  excursions 
within  intramural  China.  It  has  been  stated  that  a draft  has  been  made 
of  a plan  for  the  organization  of  the  Opium  Bureau,  and  that  the  head 
office  will  be  in  Mukden ; each  hsien  will  have  four  offices.  The  news- 
paper report  indicates  that  a tax  of  $1.00,  Mukden  notes,  will  be  levied  on 
every  ounce  of  raw  opium  produced,  and  that  opium-smoking  establish- 
ments will  be  permitted  with  a tax  on  each  lamp  in  use.” 

In  Canton  I visited  the  headquarters  of  the  Russian  advisers  to  get  a 
statement  of  opium  policy.  Mr.  Borodin,  the  “High  Adviser,”  to  whom 
I had  a card  of  introduction  was  at  Wuchang  and  no  one  else  seemed 
competent  to  talk  on  the  subject.  In  the  newspapers,  Borodin  was  quoted 
as  saying  in  his  first  speech  at  Hankow : “These,  comrades,  are  the  two 
first  great  problems  before  the  Nationalist  Government:  (1)  Put  finance 

27 


on  a sound  basis;  (2)  improve  the  economic  conditions  of  the  people.” 
In  districts  where  the  Nationalist  Government  has  gained  control  there 
is  a hopeful  sign  in  that  more  of  the  collected  revenue  finds  its  way  into 
the  treasury  and  less  stops  enroute.  Under  an  honest  government,  with 
sufficient  autonomy  in  financial  matters,  there  would  be  enough  sources 
of  revenue  without  dependence  upon  opium. 

The  general  opinion  seems  to  be  that  the  Nationalist  group  in  China 
has  principles  in  which  it  is  sincere;  and  that  as  a matter  of  policy,  as  a 
reform  government,  it  will  have  to  endeavor  to  do  without  opium  revenue 
some  day, — but  not  by  August  1,  1929. 

As  will  be  noted  in  other  parts  of  this  annex,  great  quantities  of 
Chinese-grown  opium  are  apparently  being  smuggled  into  the  various 
opium  smoking  countries  of  the  world.  It  is,  however,  quite  evident  that 
very  considerable  quantities  of  Persian  opium  are  being  smuggled  into 
China,  and  it  appears  that  some  Indian  opium,  sold  by  the  Indian  govern- 
ment to  Indo-China  for  its  own  use,  finds  its  way  through  connivance,  it  is 
said,  of  officials  in  the  latter  country  and  China.  Lest  some  surprise  be  ex- 
pressed at  China,  a large  producer,  being  interested  in  the  buying  of  foreign 
opium,  it  should  be  remembered  that  tobacco  is  produced  in  large  quantities 
in  countries  that  still  import  Havana  and  Sumatra  tobaccos. 

3.  Korea. 

From  the  meagre  information  available,  it  would  appear  that  on  the 
borders  smuggling  is  considerable,  but  that  in  the  interior  the  control  is 
fairly  effective.  Generally  speaking,  the  Japanese  are  much  more  efficient 
administrators  than  the  Filipinos  and  Chinese,  apparently  less  subject  to 
the  influences  of  corruption,  and  exercise  a strict  political  control  over 
persons  entering  the  country ; all  these  factors  are  favorable  to  efficiency. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  tremendous  supply  of  opium  moving  about  quite 
freely  in  the  neighborhood  makes  the  success  of  prohibition  an  impossi- 
bility. 

B.  Countries  which  have  a form  of  government  monopoly: 

1.  The  Netherlands  East  Indies. 

The  method  of  control  in  the  Netherlands  East  Indies  is  not  generally 
clearly  understood.  It  is  of  such  interest,  however,  and  so  intelligently 
operated,  that  it  should  be  treated  in  some  detail.  The  method  varies  in 
the  different  islands,  and  even  in  the  different  parts  of  the  same  island. 
There  is : 

(A)  Prohibition  in  areas  where  the  vice  has  never  existed  and 
where  the  Chinese  immigration  has  been  negligible;  the  population 
of  the  prohibition  areas  is  about  10,500,000. 

(B)  Registration  and  rationing  under  what  is  known  as  the  “per- 
fect license”  system;  that  is,  no  new  names  are  added  to  the  list  of 
registered  smokers.  The  population  affected  by  this  method  is  about 
18,500,000. 


28 


(C)  Registration  and  rationing  under  the  “imperfect  license” 
system : New  names  may  be  added  to  the  list  with  the  consent  of  a 
government  official  (a  European)  in  cases  where  persons  of  the  race 
permitted  to  smoke  make  application  within  a limited  time  of  taking 
up  residence  in  the  district.  The  population  subject  to  this  method 
is  about  18,000,000. 

(D)  Registration  without  rationing  in  what  is  known  as  “free 
areas,”  principally  a few  of  the  larger  cities.  Here  anyone  of  the 
permitted  race  or  races  may  purchase  and  possess  opium — not  more 
than  a certain  maximum  quantity  at  any  one  time — and  a record  is 
kept  of  each  purchase.  The  population  affected  by  this  method  is 
about  2,500,000;  this  figure  is  much  larger  than  it  was  prior  to  Sep- 
tember, 1926,  when  several  of  the  large  cities,  including  Batavia,  were 
taken  from  class  (C)  and  placed  in  this  class  in  an  endeavor  to  reduce 
smuggling. 

The  origin  of  this  mixed  method  has  a history  which  it  is  unnecessary 
to  detail  here.  In  a few  words  it  may  be  said  to  have  been  an  outgrowth 
of  the  desire  to  make  the  control  flexible  enough  to  meet  the  varying  needs 
in  different  sections,  and  changes  in  the  character  of  occupation  and  popu- 
lation in  any  one  section.  In  all  districts  where  smoking  is  permitted,  it 
is  allowed  to  Chinese,  in  some  to  natives,  but  in  none  to  Europeans. 
(There  are  a few  licenses  to  Europeans  remaining  out  of  a total  of  nine 
originally  issued.) 

The  care  and  detailed  work  expended  in  the  operation  of  the  control, 
with  a comparatively  small  force,  are  amazing.  Methods  (B),  (C),  and 
(D)  require  records.  In  (B)  and  (C),  rationing  and  registration  sys- 
tems, there  is  a space  on  the  purchaser’s  license,  the  salesman’s  book,  and 
on  the  shop’s  office  register,  for  each  day  in  the  year,  with  a place  for  the 
total  of  every  ten  days,  and  each  amount  purchased  appears  in  all  three 
of  these  records,  with  the  amount  of  ten  days’  ration  in  plain  sight. 
There  does  not  seem  to  be  any  great  difficulty,  even  in  the  larger  cities, 
in  keeping  these  records.  In  one  busy  shop  that  I visited  the  salesman 
and  the  head  clerk  constituted  the  entire  force  for  selling,  recording,  and 
all  work.  The  salesman  checked  against  the  customer  for  his  rationing, 
and  the  head  clerk  against  the  salesman.  Even  under  method  (D),  regis- 
tration without  rationing,  there  is  a record  of  amount  purchased,  with 
date,  kept  by  the  salesman  and  later  transferred  to  the  shop’s  office  register 
against  the  registrant’s  name  and  number.  If  the  amount  gets  unduly 
large  the  police  are  supposed  to  be  notified. 

During  prosperous  times  around  1920  the  government  receipts  grew 
so  large  that  some  of  the  “free  areas”  were  changed  to  “imperfect  license” 
areas.  While  receipts  fell  thereafter,  seizures  for  smuggling  increased  so 
greatly  that  it  was  felt  by  the  government  officials  that  illicit  business,  had 
taken  the  place  of  legal  purchases;  hence  the  change  back  to  the  “free 
areas”  already  mentioned  as  having  taken  place  in  September,  1926. 

29 


There  are  about  700  retail  shops  in  the  islands,  12  of  these  in  Batavia, 
which  has  a population  of  about  200,000.  The  shops  are  all  operated  by 
government  employees.  In  outlying  districts  where  the  business  is  very 
small,  the  government  is  considering  having  the  shops  open  only  an  hour 
or  two  each  day,  and  operated  by  a man  who  has  other  duties.  There  are 
about  fifty  licensed  smoking  places,  not  however  governmentally  operated. 
The  license  is  given  only  to  respectable  persons  without  police  records  and 
no  charge  is  made  for  the  license.  The  smokers  must  bring  their  own 
opium  and  do  not  pay  for  the  use  of  the  place,  but  the  proprietor  gets  the 
dross  and  the  government  buys  the  dross  from  him  at  12  guilders  per  tael, 
provided  it  measures  up  to  a standard.  The  dross  is  “worked  over”  again 
in  the  factory,  and  used  with  raw  opium  in  the  manufacture  of  prepared 
opium. 

The  retail  selling  price  of  opium  is  very  high, — 30  guilders  per  tael  in 
most  places,  except  as  one  approaches  British  Malaya  with  its  lower 
price.  Accordingly,  on  the  east  coast  of  Sumatra  the  price  is  25  guilders 
and  on  the  small  islands  near  Singapore,  20  guilders. 

The  system  of  control  is  allowed  some  flexibility.  For  example,  where 
a shop  is  very  far  away,  a purchaser  is  allowed  to  buy  a supply  to  last 
longer  than  is  customary;  or  a license  is  given  to  one  to  buy  for  a group, 
as  in  the  case  of  a contractor  clearing  jungle  far  away  from  a shop,  when 
he  has  a number  of  smokers  in  his  employ.  It  may  be  of  interest  to 
furnish  a few  figures  for  one  district  where  the  “perfect  license”  system 
is  in  force.  In  the  islands  of  Bali  and  Lombok  the  government  regie 
started  in  April,  1908;  the  license  system  of  the  whole  residency  began 
January  1,  1921.  The  quantities  sold  were:  1909 — 286,551  taels;  1920 — 
77,028  taels;  1921 — 45,095  taels;  1925 — 17,032  taels;  number  of  licenses  at 
the  end  of  1922 — 712  Chinese,  3,082  Natives;  1925 — 519  Chinese,  1,651 
Natives. 

From  figures  furnished  me,  it  would  appear  that  the  opium  revenue, 
which  was  over  11%  of  the  total  revenue  of  the  Netherlands  East  Indies 
in  1914,  was  about  71/2%  in  1921  and  about  5%  in  1925.  The  islands 
are  wealthy  enough  and  have  enough  sources  of  revenue  to  be  able  to 
finance  themselves  without  recourse  to  opium  revenue.  The  opium  mon- 
opoly is  in  the  finance  department,  not  in  a public  welfare  or  similar 
department.  A change  in  financial  policy  was  inaugurated  in  1926;  34,- 
000,000  guilders  have  been  taken  as  a basic  figure  for  the  gross  receipts 
of  the  opium  monopoly  to  go  into  the  budget ; any  excess  in  the  actual 
receipts  are  not  for  general  expenditures,  but  for  public  works  or  public 
welfare;  if  the  actual  receipts  fall  below  34,000,000  guilders,  then  the 
lower  figure  is  to  be  used  as  the  basic  figure  for  the  following  year.  (The 
gross  receipts  for  1925  were  about  36,500,000  guilders.) 

There  is  an  Opium  Advisory  Council,  consisting  of  three  Europeans, 
three  Chinese,  and  four  natives,  most  of  them  being  non-officials.  Ac- 
cording to  one  spokesman  for  the  government,  they  are  anxious  to  have 
some  anti-opium  propaganda  work,  but  believe  it  would  be  effective  only 

30 


if  carried  on  by  Chinese  or  natives  among  their  own  people;  they  are 
paying  for  one  such  now  among  the  Chinese,  and  are  also  paying  a small 
amount  to  a European  organization  for  such  work. 

A few  experiments  have  been  made  among  the  tin  workers  of  Banka, 
and  among  the  employees  of  some  industrial  companies  as  to  the  effect 
of  recreation  on  the  smoking  habit.  However,  furnishing  moving  pictures 
once  or  twice  a week  is  not  sufficient  as  a basis  for  a conclusion. 

Regarding  coca-leaf  production,  a man  familiar  with  the  subject  gave 
the  following  information:  That  it  is  mostly  in  the  hands  of  Europeans, 
that  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  control,  that  the  crop  requires  much  space 
compared  to  its  value,  and  that  it  would  therefore  not  be  difficult  to  induce 
growers  to  reduce  the  crop;  also  that  recently  when  the  government 
leased  lands  to  farmers  it  stipulated  that  no  new  coca-leaf  crops  should 
be  grown  thereon.  If  it  becomes  advisable  some  day  to  control  the  crops, 
the  government  could  do  away  with  any  coca-leaf  hedges.  The  coca-leaf 
is  usually  dried  and  powdered  before  shipment  to  Holland.  There  are 
no  factories  in  the  islands  for  doing  anything  with  the  coca-leaf.  A former 
factory  at  Soekaboemi  is  now  used  as  a coffee  warehouse;  one  projected 
elsewhere  was  never  built,  and  the  government  refused  consent  to  a 
Swiss  company  for  a factory. 

The  smuggling  of  opium  into  the  islands  is  on  a very  large  scale;  and 
according  to  government  officials,  the  quality,  the  packing,  and  the  ships 
on  which  it  arrives,  all  prove  conclusively  that  it  is  almost  entirely 
Chinese  opium.  There  is  not  much  smuggling  into  the  “prohibition 
areas,”  as  the  vice  never  has  had  a hold  there,  and  the  demand  does  not 
exist.  For  seized  opium,  the  government  pays  the  informant  four  guilders 
per  tael.  An  interesting  calculation  was  made  as  to  the  amount  of  opium 
smuggled  into  one  of  the  larger  cities.  The  dross  recovered  was  figured 
in  terms  of  taels  of  opium  necessary  to  produce  that  amount  of  dross ; 
it  was  analyzed  to  see  what  proportion  of  it  was  from  government  opium, 
and  from  this  it  was  estimated  that  there  was  at  least  1^  times  as  much 
illicit  opium  on  sale  as  government  opium. 

The  Indian  government  having  decided  to  reduce  exports  10%  per 
year  beginning  in  1927,  the  government  of  the  Netherlands  East  Indies 
had  to  decide  whether  it  would  reduce  its  supplies  or  make  up  the  shortage 
by  buying  elsewhere.  It  decided  upon  the  latter  course,  and  has  pur- 
chased enough  Persian  opium  in  the  open  market  to  take  care  of  the 
usual  needs  when  added  to  the  regular  supply  of  Indian  opium. 

The  Dutch  maintain  that  under  their  administration  of  the  monopoly 
system  the  smoking  evil  has  been  much  reduced  and  is  as  well  under 
control  as  the  smuggling  factor  will  permit.  From  my  reading  of  docu- 
ments and  my  somewhat  hurried  observation,  I believe  this  statement 
justified.  An  improvement  would  be  brought  about,  however,  by  the 
adoption  of  some  of  the  modifications  suggested  in  the  body  of  the  Report. 

31 


2.  Government  Shops  and  Divans  in  British  Malaya. 

In  1926  the  governments  in  British  Malaya  (Straits  Settlements,  Fed- 
erated Malay  States,  and  Unfederated  Malay  States)  practically  com- 
pleted the  change  from  licensed  shops  and  divans  to  government  shops  and 
divans  operated  by  government  employees.  The  control  is  intelligently 
operated ; no  attempt  has  yet  been  made  to  ration  users,  nor  has  any  be- 
ginning been  made  in  the  Straits  Settlements  to  register  them;  but  in  the 
Federated  Malay  States  a “list  of  customers”  system,  begun  in  November, 
1924,  is  being  followed. 

The  net  revenue  from  opium  for  the  year  1925  in  the  Straits  Settle- 
ments was  roughly  about  $12,500,000,  or  something  over  37%  of  the  en- 
tire revenue;  in  the  Federated  Malay  States  about  $12,000,000,  or  about 
14%  of  the  entire  revenue;  and  in  the  various  Unfederated  States  the 
percentage  of  revenue  from  opium  varied  from  20%  to  28%,  by  far  the 
largest  volume  being  in  Johore,  where  it  was  about  $4,600,000.  The  above 
figures  are  all  in  Straits  dollars. 

The  selling  price  of  government  opium  in  Singapore  is  $12.50  (Straits 
dollars)  per  tahil.  The  government  buys  all  dross  offered  that  measures 
up  to  a standard,  paying  $7.00  a tahil  for  it,  and  destroys  it.  This  high 
price  is  necessary  as  there  are  users  willing  to  pay  $6.50  for  it.  The  gov- 
ernmentally  operated  divans  in  Singapore,  which  I visited,  look  more  like 
workingmen’s  clubs  than  the  opium  dens  of  romance ; they  are  clean,  well 
ventilated  and  lighted,  and  have  sanitary  appliances.  The  smokers  are 
usually  in  groups  of  two  or  three,  chatting  or  smoking  cigarettes  or  drink- 
ing tea  (which  is  furnished  free)  between  “pipes,”  if  they  smoke  more 
than  one.  Smokers  who  use  the  divans  do  not  pay  for  the  privilege,  but 
buy  their  opium  there.  The  clerk  in  charge  is  supposed  to  turn  in  dross 
to  an  extent  of  at  least  50%  of  the  volume  of  his  sales;  it  is  the  smoker 
who  is  paid  for  it. 

There  is  an  Opium  Advisory  Commission  for  British  Malaya,  com- 
posed of  the  Treasurer,  the  Secretary  for  Chinese  Affairs,  the  Superin- 
tendent of  Government  Monopolies  of  the  Straits  Settlements,  the  Deputy 
Commissioner  of  Trade  and  Customs,  the  Secretary  for  Chinese  Affairs 
of  the  Federated  Malay  States,  the  Commissioner  of  Trade  and  Customs 
of  Johore,  and  one  European  and  two  Chinese  unofficial  members. 

To  take  care  of  the  cut  in  their  opium  supply  by  the  Indian  Government 
beginning  with  10%  in  1927,  British  Malaya  has  supplied  itself  by  pur- 
chase in  the  open  market  with  probably  enough  Persian  opium  to  care  for 
their  needs  for  1927  and  1928. 

The  British  Malayan  governments  are  preparing  for  the  time  when 
they  will  have  no  more  opium  revenue.  In  1925  the  Straits  Settlements 
set  aside  $30,000,000  (Straits  dollars)  as  an  Opium  Revenue  Reserve  Re- 
placement Fund,  and  in  1926  added  thereto  10%  of  its  year’s  revenue, 

32 


which  increased  the  fund  by  over  $3,000,000.  It  is  the  government’s  in- 
tention thus  to  keep  adding  annually  to  this  fund.  The  Federated  Malay 
States  started  a similar  fund  in  1925  with  $10,000,000;  and  Johore  with 
a lesser  amount.  While  all  the  governments  have  enough  untaxed  sources 
to  provide  necessary  revenue,  they  consider  this  financial  plan  the  con- 
servative one;  but  the  plan  encountered  considerable  opposition. 

Smuggling  is  on  a large  scale.  In  1925  the  Straits  Settlements  authori- 
ties seized  36,656  tahils  of  raw  opium,  of  which  95%  was  said  to  be 
Chinese,  and  275,089  tahils  of  prepared  opium,  99%  of  which  also  ap- 
peared to  be  Chinese.  One  authority  spoke  of  “the  huge  flood  of  Amoy 
opium”  which  is  invading  British  Malaya  in  spite  of  the  money  spent  on 
patrol  and  prevention  service. 

While  not  quite  up  to  the  Dutch  standard,  the  government  monopoly 
is  an  excellently  administered  one,  and,  taking  smuggling  difficulties  into 
account,  has  accomplished  its  objects  reasonably  well.  The  admirable  in- 
vestigations exhaustively  conducted  by  the  government  twice  in  the  past 
twenty  years  indicate  that  the  problem  is  well  understood.  The  Chinese 
“protector”  and  “adviser”  system  in  force  here  and  in  the  Netherlands 
East  Indies  is  intelligently  helpful  in  the  problem.  Needless  to  say,  the 
modifications  to  government  monopoly  mentioned  in  the  report  would  re- 
move some  of  the  existing  objections  to  that  form  of  control. 

3.  Hongkong, 

The  government  of  this  colony  does  not  operate  its  own  shops,  but  pays 
selected  men  a monthly  wage  out  of  which  the  shopkeeper  pays  rent  and 
all  expenses.  The  shopkeeper  buys  and  sells  at  the  government  price,  that 
is,  without  profit;  his  profit  comes  from  what  he  saves  on  his  “wage.” 
This  wage  is  from  $85  to  $100  Mex.  for  the  ordinary  shop ; smaller 
amounts  where  the  space  and  time  required  are  very  little.  One  of  the 
“shops”  I visited  in  a busy  part  of  the  town  was  a mere  counter  or  desk 
in  the  rear  of  a dry-goods  shop.  A semi-official  explanation  of  why  they 
do  not  have  the  selling  done  by  government  employees  was  that  they  do  not 
want  to  give  this  type  of  Chinese  the  authority  of  a petty  government 
official,  and  that  the  Chinese  as  merchants  are  honest,  but  as  officials  fre- 
quently not.  There  are  somewhat  less  than  100  shops.  The  retail  selling 
price  of  government  opium  is  $14.50  Mex.  per  tael.  The  law  limits  legal 
possession  to  five  taels.  Public  smoking  places  are  illegal ; the  police  are 
kept  busy  suppressing  them,  and  a regular  scale  of  rewards  is  paid  in- 
formers. In  1925  there  were  1,610  convictions  for  divan  keeping,  and 
6,380  convictions  for  the  offenses  of  illegal  smoking,  boiling,  and  posses- 
sion of  opium. 

Hongkong  in  all  practical  effect  is  as  much  a part  of  China  as  Man- 
hattan Island  is  a part  of  the  United  States.  Smuggling  of  Chinese  opium 
into  Hongkong  is  on  an  enormous  scale.  One  official  estimated  that  only 
5%  of  the  amount  smuggled  in  is  seized,  and  that  the  illicit  trade  is  three 


33 


times  the  licit.  In  1924  an  estimate  was  made  that  they  were  about  equal. 
All  are,  of  course,  mere  guesses.  The  illicit  sells  for  $3  to  $3.50  per 
tael,  only  about  a fourth  of  the  government  price.  In  October,  1926, 
there  was  a large  seizure  of  illicit  opium;  for  several  weeks  after  that 
until  illicit  sales  became  normal,  the  government  shops  did  an  unusually 
large  business.  In  1925  about  46,000  taels  of  prepared  opium  were 
seized,  of  which  about  36,000  were  Chinese,  about  7,000  from  Macao  and 
about  3,000  from  Kwang  Chow  Wan,  French  leased  territory;  and  about 
16,000  taels  of  raw  opium,  of  which  about  95%  was  Chinese. 

Further  information  on  Hongkong  is  contained  in  the  “Report  of  the 
Superintendent  of  Imports  and  Exports  for  the  Year  1925.”  So  inter- 
esting a document  on  the  whole  is  the  “Report  of  the  Committee  Ap- 
pointed by  H.  E.  the  Governor  to  Consider  the  Colony’s  Position  with 
Regard  to  the  Obligations  Incurred  under  the  International  Opium  Con- 
vention, 1912,”  which  report  is  dated  March  1,  1924,  that  excerpts  from 
it  are  reproduced  in  Annex  IV. 

Administration  of  a monopoly  is  more  difficult  in  Hongkong  than  in  the 
East  Indies,  but  some  modifications  could  be  adopted  to  remove  the  prin- 
cipal objections  to  the  government  monopoly  form  of  control. 

4.  Other  British  Territories  in  the  Far  East. 

Sarawak:  In  1925  the  net  opium  revenue  was  about  $1,000,000, 
approximately  18^^%  of  the  total  revenue.  Smokers  were  licensed  and 
registered  but  not  rationed.  An  attempt  was  being  made  to  limit  new  labor 
in  some  of  the  government  works  to  non-smokers.  On  December  31,  1925 
there  were  6,258  registered  smokers.  Distribution  was  either  directly  by 
government  officials,  or  agents  paid  fixed  fees.  There  were  government 
smoking  divans,  and  a few  government  appointed  agents ; difficulty  was 
being  experienced  in  suppressing  illegal  divans.  In  the  Government  Ga- 
zette of  September  1,  1926,  a rough  estimate,  described  as  “exceedingly 
unreliable,”  gives  the  Chinese  population  as  36,000. 

British  North  Borneo:  Government  shops  with  clerks  on  a fixed 
salary  are  being  tried  experimentally  in  districts  where  effective  su- 
pervision is  possible.  Otherwise,  opium  is  sold  in  licensed  non-govern- 
ment shops  or  distributed  by  estates  and  other  large  employers  of  labor 
who  purchase  either  from  the  government  or  licensed  non -government 
shops.  The  number  of  shops  of  both  kinds  has  been  reduced  about 
26%  from  1925  to  1926,  this  action  apparently  being  stimulated  or  in- 
duced by  the  Geneva  Conference. 

The  revenue  derived  from  opium  sales  in  1925  was  $881,418,  which 
was  about  23%  of  the  total  revenue  of  the  State. 

The  following  comparative  table  of  opium  shops  was  furnished  from 
official  sources. 


34 


June  30,  July  31, 
1925  1926 


Estate  licensed  retail  shops  

43 

— 

Estates  distributing  chandii  

Licensed  retail  shops  

25 

— 

17 

28 

Licensed  smoking  divans  

10 

35 

2 

19 

Government  retail  shops  

nil 

6 

Government  smoking  divans  

nil 

5 

11 

78 

58 

Ceylon,  Burma,  and  India  will  be  treated  under  “eating  opium.” 

5.  Japan  and  Japanese  Territories. 

Japan  has  no  opium  smoking  problem.  For  several  hundred  years  it 
was  a “closed  country,”  and,  when  it  was  opened,  treaties  against  opium 
importation  were  made,  and  strict  laws  passed  and  enforced  against  the 
use  of  opium.  The  evil  never  got  a start  there.  The  Japanese  are  a tem- 
perate people,  and  are  accustomed  to  discipline  and  obedience  to  the  gov- 
ernmental requirements.  The  above  may  serve  to  explain  in  part  why  the 
Japanese  have  been  singularly  free  from  the  evils  of  opium  and  “drug” 
addiction. 

At  this  point,  mention  should  be  made  of  the  new  Opium  Commission, 
organized  April  1,  1926:  An  advisory  board  composed  of  the  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs,  Chairman ; Director  of  the  Treaty  Bureau,  Foreign 
Office;  Director  of  the  Health  Bureau,  Home  Office;  one  of  the  Directors 
of  the  Department  of  Justice;  one  of  the  Directors  of  the  Department  of 
Communications ; and  the  chiefs  of  the  Monopoly  Bureaus  of  Formosa, 
Kwantung,  and  Korea.  Their  most  important  decisions  during  1926  were 
to  recommend  ratification  of  the  Geneva  conventions;  and  their  recom- 
mendations to  the  Department  of  Communications,  which  in  turn  recom- 
mended to  the  Japanese  Ship  Owners’  Association  that  they  insert  in  all 
charter  parties  the  following  clause : “That  charterers  shall  not  load  or 
carry  opium  destined  for  China  unless  they  secure  from  the  proper  author- 
ities a regular  permit  for  opium  importation  into  China,  and  that  charterers 
shall  not  discharge  such  goods  at  any  place  or  port  other  than  specified  in 
such  permit.”  All  have  apparently  complied  with  this  recommendation ; but 
apparently  they  do  not  include  ships  registered  in  Formosa,  Kwantung,  or 
Korea.  The  intention  of  the  recommendation  was  to  do  away  with  the 
opium  traffic  from  the  Persian  Gulf  to  China  in  ships  flying  the  Japanese 
flag. 

Formosa  : There  are  special  factors  which  account  for  the  better 
working  of  a registration  and  rationing  plan  here  than  elsewhere.  The 
government  exercises  a strict  political  control  over  all  persons  desiring  to 
enter  Formosa;  the  population  is  a fairly  stable  one,  and  addicts  are  not 
admitted;  low  price  of  government  opium  reduces  the  incentive  for 


35 


smuggling;  there  is  efhcient  supervision  including  that  over  smuggling. 
In  spite  of  all  this,  scandals  have  arisen  in  the  past  over  irregularities  in 
administration,  and  there  are  complaints  in  other  countries  of  “leakage” 
from  Formosa  and  via  Formosa.  Apparently  some  of  the  morphine  is  ex- 
tracted from  the  opium  prepared  for  smoking,  ostensibly  for  making  a 
uniform  product  and  for  lowering  the  morphine  content  of  the  prepared 
opium.  Several  observers  who  have  lived  in  or  visited  Formosa  state 
that  owing  to  the  strict  political  control  it  is  difficult  to  obtain  anything 
but  the  official  viewpoint  and  official  statistics,  but  that  their  observations 
of  the  workings  of  the  system  do  not  tend  to  substantiate  all  of  the  claims 
of  excellency  and  efficiency  made  by  the  Japanese. 

Kwantung  (leased  territory  in  China)  : The  right  to  import  raw 
opium  and  sell  it  is  “farmed”  out,  and  the  farmer  may  sell  only  to 
registered  and  rationed  consumers,  the  consumer  apparently  doing  his 
own  preparing.  The  list  of  registrants  is  not  closed,  as  in  Formosa,  but 
it  is  supposed  not  to  exceed  a fixed  number.  As  there  are  about  300,000 
Chinese  coming  in  and  going  out  of  the  territory  each  year,  there  are  many 
difficulties  with  the  system  and  much  smuggling.  It  is  planned  to  do  away 
with  the  “farmer”  during  1927,  and  have  the  importation  and  sale  of  raw 
opium  a government  monopoly;  but  for  the  present  there  are  no  other 
plans  for  changing  any  other  features  of  the  system  to  conform  with  that 
in  Formosa. 

Korea  has  been  treated  under  “Prohibition.” 

6.  Siam. 

Siam  believes  that  the  best  way  to  restrict  the  use  of  opium  is  to  confine 
the  smoking  to  public  divans  and  forbid  it  in  the  home.  Siam  is  having 
the  same  trouble  with  the  smuggling  problem  that  other  countries  are 
experiencing ; her  policy  of  control  has  been  a progressive  one ; she  con- 
tends that  if  the  smuggling  evil  is  overcome,  and  if  she  is  given  tariff  au- 
tonomy and  thus  freed  from  the  necessity  of  any  reliance  upon  opium 
revenue,  she  can  solve  her  opium  problem  as  promptly  as  any  country  in 
the  East.  I am  informed  that  Siam  is  buying  enough  Persian  opium  to 
make  up  for  India’s  10%  cut  in  supplies. 

7.  Macao. 

The  testimony  from  almost  all  sides  indicates  that  the  well-known 
practices  in  this  Portuguese  colony  continue  as  heretofore,  and  that  it  is 
still  one  of  the  largest  centers  of  illicit  trade  outside  of  China. 

8.  French  Territory  in  the  Far  East. 

I know  very  little  of  the  details  of  opium  control  in  Indo-China  and 
Kwang  Chow  Wan.  It  is  hardly  possible,  however,  that  governmental 
control  in  any  parts  of  the  country,  no  matter  how  wild  or  remote,  present 
any  difficulties  not  encountered  in  the  Netherlands  East  Indies,  British 
Malaya,  Burma,  or  Siam.  According  to  various  persons  who  have  visited 
Indo-China  lately,  a number  of  Europeans  are  becoming  addicted  to  opium 
smoking.  The  worst  thing,  however,  which  stands  out  in  the  testimony 
in  all  parts  of  the  Far  East,  is  the  increase  of  irregularities  in  Indo-China 

36 


and  Kwang  Chow  Wan,  so  far  as  illicit  export  and  smuggling  are  con- 
cerned. 

9.  India. 

India  has  taken  in  1926  one  of  the  most  important  steps  in  the  history 
of  the  opium  question  by  announcing  that  she  would  begin  cutting  down 
the  export  of  opium  for  smoking  in  1927  at  the  rate  of  10%  each  year 
until  it  is  wiped  out  entirely.  The  factors  that  evidently  influenced  her 
are  numerous : World  opinion,  British  opinion,  native  opinion ; the  misuse 
by  re-export  and  smuggling  of  the  opium  sold  to  Macao,  Persia,  and 
French  Indo-China,  and,  connected  therewith,  her  obligation  under  the 
Hague  Convention  to  control  distribution,  and  under  the  Geneva  Con- 
vention to  use  her  efforts  to  end  smuggling;  her  desire  to  avoid  the  em- 
barrassment of  watching  what  became  of  the  opium  she  sold;  her  im- 
proved financial  condition,  which  lessened  the  importance  of  the  revenue 
consideration ; and  the  untenability  of  her  position  at  Geneva.  The  plan 
to  be  used  for  1927  is  apparently  to  reduce  the  1926  export  of  8,145  chests 
by  10%  and  apportion  the  amount  to  be  exported  among  the  buyers  in 
proportion  to  their  respective  average  purchases  during  the  last  five  years. 
Attention  has  already  been  called  to  the  fact  that  these  customers  are  mak- 
ing up  for  the  shortage  by  buying  elsewhere.  It  is  not  considered  that 
the  growers  will  experience  any  hardships  in  adjusting  themselves  to  a 
change  that  is  spread  over  ten  years. 

Opium  eating  is  India’s  greatest  problem,  domestically,  and  will  be 
discussed  under  the  classification  “Raw  Opium  for  Eating.”  The  new 
policy  of  cutting  down  exports  is  presented  here  because  it  concerns  pre- 
pared opium  for  smoking  and  affects  the  opium  smoking  control  in  other 
countries. 

, , II.  RAW  OPIUM  FOR  EATING 

1.  India. 

The  Indian  Government  regards  the  opium  policy  of  the  provinces  a 
“transferred  subject”  over  which  each  province  itself  has  full  control. 
The  governing  power,  however,  retains  a right  to  veto,  and  is  usually  care- 
ful to  explain  that  the  right  would  hardly  be  exercised  in  case  of  a popular 
desire  to  increase  restrictions  on  the  use  of  opium.  As  a matter  of  fact, 
I am  familiar  with  a recent  veto  in  India  of  some  provincial  opium  legis- 
lation— probably  a proper  one,  as  the  legislation  was  ill-considered — -but 
nevertheless  an  example  of  what  the  power  of  veto  can  do. 

The  old  claim  that  the  eating  of  opium  was  a necessary  medical  use  in 
remote  districts  where  doctors  were  few  has  been  exploded  recently  by 
the  discovery  that  the  greatest  use  was  in  the  crowded  industrial  sections, 
and  the  large  cities.  This  has  greatly  simplified  the  problem.  Public 
opinion  in  India  is  gradually  making  headway  to  combat  the  evil ; Assam 
is  already  definitely  committed  to  eventual  prohibition,  and  Bombay  has 
accepted  it  in  principle. 

The  contention  that  the  eating  of  opium  is  purely  a domestic  problem 
is  perhaps  technically  correct,  but  if  India  produces  her  opium  for  domestic 

37 


use,  after  it  has  ceased  to  export,  it  will  still  have  an  international  obli- 
gation to  control  distribution  so  that  none  of  the  production  gets  where 
it  is  not  wanted.  A man  may  keep  a vicious  dog  without  incurring  any 
penalties  to  his  neighbors  so  long  as  he  keeps  it  off  their  premises. 

One  of  the  important  problems  that  India  has  to  deal  with  is  the  opium 
production  of  the  native  states ; much  of  this  is  smuggled  into  other  parts 
of  British  India,  but  it  is  not  believed  that  smuggling  out  of  the  country 
is  on  a very  large  scale.  This  problem  will  probably  be  solved  only  when 
the  native  states  are  given  some  other  revenue  to  replace  their  opium 
revenue,  such  as,  for  example,  part  of  the  customs  duties. 

The  Indian  Government  can  probably  do  much  to  reduce  that  part  of 
the  opium  eating  evil  that  is  due  to  the  so-called  medical  use  by  an  edu- 
cational campaign  on  the  efficacy  of  substitutes.  Just  as  it  now  sells 
quinine  at  a low  price  at  the  post  offices  for  malaria,  where  opium  used  to 
be  tbe  accepted  remedy,  so  it  could  induce  the  use  of  coal-tar  products 
and  other  drugs  with  pain-killing  but  non-habit-forming  properties  for 
the  relief  of  those  ills,  or  their  symptoms,  for  which  opium  is  now  taken. 
Incidently,  it  might  be  added  that  India  has  established  a limited  monopoly 
of  quinine,  ostensibly  to  end  her  reliance  upon  the  Dutch  syndicate’s 
monopoly.  Since  the  establishment  of  the  monopoly  one  of  the  Presi- 
dencies and  two  of  the  government  plantations  are  said  to  have  made  a 
very  substantial  profit. 

The  “apology”  for  the  government  monopoly  of  production  and  ex- 
port for  the  past  is  that  the  monopoly  was  necessary  for  efficient  control, 
and  other  governments  happened  to  want  to  buy  what  she  was  producing. 
Regardless  of  the  past,  India’s  present  actions  are  contributing  much  to 
the  solution  of  the  world  problem. 

2.  Ceylon. 

Ceylon  uses  the  registration  and  rationing  system  for  control  of  opium 
eating  as  well  as  smoking.  In  1912,  10,896  pounds  of  opium  were  used; 
in  1925,  4,223  pounds;  in  1920,  there  were  11,062  registered  addicts;  in 
1925,  7,170.  Native  doctors  are  licensed  to  use  opium  in  their  practice, 
and  are  supplied  from  government  depots.  Registered  addicts  get  their 
supplies  from  government  hospitals  and  dispensaries.  This  is  an  interest- 
ing feature  of  the  plan.  It  approaches  more  nearly  prohibition,  with  ad- 
diction considered  rather  as  having  the  attributes  of  disease. 

Liquor,  and  the  drinking  of  “ganja”  or  “bhang,”  an  Indian  hemp  prep- 
aration, are  greater  problems  than  opium  in  Ceylon.  There  is  a consid- 
erable illicit  traffic  in  opium  smuggled  in  from  India.  One  observer  esti- 
mated that  there  is  as  much  opium,  licit  and  illicit,  now  used  in  Ceylon 
as  under  the  old  license  system  before  1912,  but  that  the  law  had  had  an 
educational  effect  and  had  kept  the  traffic  within  bounds.  The  chief 
cause  of  failure  is  ascribed  to  smuggling  and  bribery  of  native  enforce- 
ment officers ; accordingly,  it  is  usually  the  consumer  who  is  arrested,  the 
seller  sometimes,  but  the  big  dealer  never. 

The  chief  factors  that  brought  about  the  change  to  registration  and 

38 


rationing  from  the  old  license  system  were  the  campaign  of  a Scotch 
newspaper  editor  in  Colombo,  and  the  willingness  of  the  authorities  to  try 
it,  since  the  opium  revenue  was  not  an  important  part  of  the  general 
budget.  Of  course,  the  high  percentage  of  literacy  in  Ceylon  contributed 
to  the  success  of  the  editor’s  campaign. 

3.  Burma. 

Here  also  are  found  registration  of  smokers  and  eaters.  From  in- 
formation received,  I would  judge  that  the  problems  are  similar  to  those 
described  elsewhere,  smuggling  presenting  the  greatest  difficulty. 

III.  “MANUFACTURED  DRUGS” 

The  methods  of  control  over  “manufactured  drugs”  are  not  in  con- 
troversy to  the  same  extent  as  methods  of  control  of  raw  and  prepared 
opium.  Medicinal  and  scientific  uses  of  “manufactured  drugs”  are  al- 
most universally  recognized  as  the  only  legitimate  ones,  and  the  use  by  the 
consumer  for  medicinal  purposes  is  predicated  upon  first  obtaining  a pre- 
scription from  a physician  and  having  it  filled  by  a licensed  pharmacist 
under  strict  control,  who  in  turn  obtains  his  supplies  from  a licensed 
dealer  or  manufacturer  under  government  control.  The  extent  to  which 
import  and  export  of  both  the  raw  material  and  the  manufactured  product 
should  be  controlled,  and  the  degree  to  which  the  individual  manufacturer 
should  be  restricted  in  his  output  are  the  principal  questions ; and  here  the 
difficulty  is  more  as  to  what  form  of  international  agreement  will  be  ac- 
ceptable. It  has  been  clearly  established  by  experience  that  the  United 
States,  Great  Britain  and  Japan  all  have  methods  of  control  and  laws 
which,  when  strictly  enforced,  can  keep  the  drugs  within  legitimate 
channels. 

The  United  States  system  is,  briefly,  (1)  to  forbid  the  importation  of 
“manufactured  drugs,”  and  to  permit  the  importation  of  only  so  much 
raw  material  as  the  Federal  Narcotics  Control  Board  deems  necessary  for 
the  manufacture  of  the  medical  requirements  of  the  country  itself;  (2)  to 
prohibit  the  exportation  of  “manufactured  drugs”  except  by  permit,  and 
only  to  countries  that  need  them  for  legitimate  purposes,  upon  proof  of 
that  fact  and  presentation  of  a proper  import  certificate  from  the  authori- 
ties of  such  countries.  The  internal  control  is  by  license  and  supervision 
of  manufacturers,  wholesale  and  retail  dealers,  physicians,  dentists, 
and  veterinarians,  and  by  supply  to  the  consumer  only  upon  prescription. 
The  Japanese  form  differs  from  this  principally  in  that  the  government 
has  a monopoly  of  the  import  of  raw  material,  and  the  manufacturer  must 
look  there  for  his  supply. 

In  the  past  three  years  there  has  been  practically  no  complaint  that 
British  or  American  products  were  finding  their  way  into  illegitimate 
channels.  On  the  other  hand  there  was  much  complaint,  principally  in 
China  and  other  Far  Eastern  countries,  that  Japanese  products  were  freely 
to  be  had.  I was  informed  in  Japan  that  at  a Cabinet  meeting  late  in  1925 
orders  were  given  for  the  strictest  sort  of  enforcement  of  the  law,  and 
that  today,  except  by  petty  smuggling  or  connivance  of  officials,  no  “manu- 


39 


factured  drugs”  can  get  out  of  Japan  except  in  very  small  quantities, 
usually  less  than  an  ounce,  upon  requisition  of  a Japanese  physician, 
dentist,  or  veterinarian  residing  in  a foreign  country,  for  use  in  his  prac- 
tice, accompanied  by  a certificate  of  a Japanese  consul,  and  then  upon 
express  permission  of  the  Japanese  Home  Office.  However,  the  state- 
ment is  made  in  China  that  “drugs”  are  getting  through  by  means  of 
false  labeling. 

“Drug”  addiction  seems  to  be  a serious  menace  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 
Surface  indications  are  that  it  is  greatest  in  China  and  the  United  States, 
but  this  may  be  more  apparent  than  real,  for  the  matter  has  perhaps  had 
more  attention  and  publicity  in  these  countries.  No  reliable  statistics  are 
available.  For  example,  estimates  of  the  number  of  “drug”  addicts  in 
the  United  States  have  varied  from  100,000  to  4,000,000;  in  a report 
dated  April  15,  1919,  of  a special  committee  for  the  investigation  of  the 
“drug”  traffic,  appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  the  number 
was  put  as  “probably  exceeding  1,000,000.”  In  the  November,  1926, 
Hearings  of  the  House  Appropriation  Committee,  Col.  L.  G.  Nutt,  head 
of  the  Narcotic  Division  of  the  U.  S.  Treasury  Department,  placed  the  esti- 
mate at  100,000.  Dr.  Wu  Lien-Teh,  of  Harbin  and  Pekin,  a well-known 
physician,  has  stated  that  in  1924  there  was  an  illegal  import  into  China  of 
thirty  tons  of  narcotic  drugs,  probably  an  exaggerated  figure.  That  China 
has  been  suffering  greatly  from  a tremendous  import  is  perfectly  clear ; and 
one  of  the  cruellest  features  of  the  traffic  is  that  a large  part  of  the 
“drugs”  are  sold  as  a cure  for  the  opium  habit.  While  a number  of  those 
engaged  in  the  traffic  are  foreigners,  said  to  be  largely  Japanese  residing 
in  China,  the  bulk  of  it  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Chinese.  One  observer 
thinks  that  “drug”  addiction  in  China  has  fallen  off  as  opium  smoking  has 
increased.  In  India  the  habit  is  growing,  in  spite  of  strict  laws  and  many 
convictions ; in  many  cases  it  seems  that  cocaine  is  being  mixed  with  the 
betel  nut.  In  the  British  possessions  and  the  Philippines,  deportation  of 
Qiinese  who  are  found  guilty  of  violation  of  any  of  the  drug  laws  has 
been  found  to  have  a deterrent  effect  upon  that  part  of  the  population. 

Smuggled  goods  are  the  whole  source  of  supply  in  the  Far  East ; there 
are  no  manufacturers  there  with  the  exception  of  Japan,  and  the  Japanese 
are  remarkably  free  from  addiction.  Apparently  “drugs”  of  German  and 
Swiss  manufacture  are  finding  their  way  into  the  Far  East  countries,  al- 
though the  date  of  their  leaving  the  factory  is  never  clear.  In  fact,  the 
whole  question  of  identification  of  country  of  manufacturer  is  a difficult 
one.  “Drugs”  come  unlabeled,  or  falsely  labeled  as  to  contents  or  place 
of  manufacture,  or  well-known  labels  are  counterfeited;  sometimes 
“drugs”  are  taken  from  one  country  to  another  before  shipment  abroad 
in  an  attempt  to  conceal  the  source. 

The  United  States,  Great  Britain,  Japan,  Germany,  Switzerland,  France 
and  Holland  are  today  the  sources  of  practically  all  of  the  world’s  “manu- 
factured drugs.”  The  products  of  the  first  two  mentioned  are  well  under 
control.  That  Japan  can  regulate  her  manufacture  if  she  will  is  abun- 

40 


dantly  evidenced  by  her  ability  to  keep  her  own  people  comparatively  free 
from  the  evil  and  to  control  smuggling  into  the  country  and  her  possessions 
where  it  is  her  interest  to  do  so.  She  has  been  much  blamed  in  the  past 
for  the  share  her  nationals  had  in  the  “manufactured  drug”  trade  of  the 
Far  East.  How  about  the  rest?  France  is  the  smallest  factor  as  a manu- 
facturer. Holland  is  important  in  that  her  nationals  have  a monopoly  on 
a large  part  of  the  world’s  supply  of  coca-leaf,  used  for  cocaine,  which 
they  manufacture  only  in  crude  form  and  then  sell  to  the  laboratories 
that  make  the  finished  product.  Germany  and  Switzerland  have  in  the 
past  been  the  big  sources  of  the  “manufactured  drugs”  that  find  their 
way  through  illicit  channels  into,  for  example,  the  United  States.  Laws 
in  all  these  countries,  similar  to  those  in  the  United  States,  strictly  en- 
forced, would  go  a long  way  towards  putting  an  end  to  the  evil.  That 
they  can  be  strictly  enforced  there  is  no  doubt.  The  factories  in  Germany 
and  Switzerland,  before  the  war,  made  a great  variety  of  patented  non- 
habit-forming drugs  which  they  sold  in  the  United  States  at  m,uch  higher 
prices  than  at  home,  and  they  were  sufficiently  vigilant  to  protect  their 
interests  to  be  able  to  prevent  a flow  of  these  products  at  a lower  price 
from  reaching  America  through  irregular  channels.  In  other  words,  they 
successfully  protected  their  monopoly  and  did  their  own  enforcing. 

Most  of  the  manufacturers  in  Continental  Europe  and  Japan  producing 
habit-forming  drugs  in  large  quantities,  and  the  responsible  officials  in 
those  countries,  must  know  that  most  of  those  “drugs”  will  eventually  be 
used  illicitly;  furthermore,  there  is  no  national  interest  involved  in  the 
continued  manufacture  of  those  large  quantities.  Therefore,  if  these 
responsible  officials  dictate  a policy  of  opposition  to  strict  control  of  ex- 
port or  limitation  of  manufacture,  it  is  altogether  likely,  although  purely 
a matter  of  conjecture,  that  they  have  been  directly  or  indirectly  influ- 
enced by  tbe  trade  or  commercial  interests.  What  that  influence  was  in 
Switzerland,  at  least  up  to  1925,  is  made  fairly  clear  in  a book  entitled 
“La  Politique  de  la  Suisse  dans  la  Societe  des  Nations,  1920-1925,”  written 
in  1925  by  Prof.  William  E.  Rappard  of  the  University  of  Geneva,  from 
which  I quote  the  following  excerpts  (translated  from  the  original  French)  : 

“It  is,  moreover,  very  doubtful  that  scruples  concerning  constitu- 
tional procedure  should  have  so  long  prevented  the  Swiss  from 
adhering  to  the  Hague  Convention,  had  they  not  been  reinforced  by 
a desire  not  to  injure  a flourishing  national  industry.  Switzerland 
is,  indeed,  one  of  the  three  countries  of  Europe  and  one  of  the  six 
countries  of  the  world  which  manufacture  morphine.  She  is  also 
one  of  the  four  European  countries  and  one  of  the  six  countries 
of  the  world  which  manufacture  cocaine.  Moreover,  deprived  of 
a large  domestic  market  and  exporting  more  than  95  per  cent  of 
her  drug  production,  she  is  naturally  more  concerned  than  any 
other  State  by  all  international  regulations  on  the  matter.  This  con- 
sideration renders  the  action  of  the  Federal  Government  not  only 
more  difficult,  but  also  more  necessary. 


41 


“From  all  sides,  indeed,  our  country  found  herself  accused  of 
deliberately  remaining  out  of  the  struggle  against  drug  abuse,  in 
order  to  allow  her  factories  to  profit  by  the  complete  immunity  in 
which  the  inaction  of  the  Federal  Government  left  them.  These 
accusations,  doubtless  often  inspired  by  the  spite  of  less  fortunate 
competitors,  were  nourished  by  a certain  spring  which  seemed  in- 
exhaustible. Every  three  months,  new  discoveries  of  drugs  whose 
place  of  export,  if  not  of  origin,  was  Swiss,  were  noted  by  the 
customs  officials  in  countries  importing  Swiss  products,  notably 
the  United  States,  Canada,  the  Indies  and  the  Far  East.  As  the 
shipments  of  morphine  and  cocaine,  sometimes  hidden  in  electric 
lamps,  sometimes  in  cases  of  cocoa,  sometimes  in  corsets  or  furni- 
ture, had  too  often  been  sent  from  Switzerland,  and  as  the  name  of 
a certain  firm  manufacturing  chemical  products  at  * * * was  too 
often  associated  with  these  revelations,  our  country  in  refusing  to 
put  into  effect  the  Hague  Convention  and  in  not  publishing  detailed 
statistics  relative  to  its  drug  exportations,  inevitably  became  an  ob- 
ject of  suspicion  in  many  parts  of  the  world. 

“The  action  of  the  Federal  Government,  thanks  to  which  Switzer- 
land was  able  in  1925  to  ratify  the  Convention  which  she  had  signed 
in  1913,  was,  therefore,  politically  opportune  as  well  as  morally 
laudable.  It  is  all  the  more  difficult  to  understand  why  it  was 
judged  well  at  Berne  for  the  representatives  of  the  * * * firm, 
most  often  mentioned  during  these  years  in  connection  with  seiz- 
ures of  concealed  drugs,  to  associate  publicly  and  almost  ostenta- 
tiously with  the  Swiss  delegation  at  the  recent  opium  conference 
as  well  as  with  the  commission  charged  with  elaborating  the  rules 
for  carrying  out  the  law,  whose  promulgation  they  had  done  all 
they  could  to  prevent. 

“Politically  and  economically,  indeed,  the  Swiss  live  on  the  con- 
fidence of  the  foreigner,  a moral  capital  slowly  accumulated  in  the 
course  of  generations  by  the  honesty  of  our  workmen  and  mer- 
chants. The  export  of  drugs  destined  to  satisfy  medicinal  and 
scientific  needs  is  a perfectly  legitimate  commercial  activity,  which 
has  everything  to  gain  and  nothing  to  lose  in  being  protected  by 
the  government  which  draws  a sharp  distinction  between  this  and 
clandestine  traffic.  The  more  the  government  zealously  and  eagerly 
keeps  watch  over  this  traffic  and  its  purveyors,  the  stronger  it  will 
be  to  defend  the  interests  not  only  of  the  chemical  industry  but  of 
the  Swiss  export  trade  in  general.” 

One  of  Switzerland’s  prominent  citizens  has  thus  courageously  done  her 
a service,  with  the  hope,  no  doubt,  of  having  her  gain  some  of  the  prestige 
lost  through  the  actions  of  some  of  her  “drug”  manufacturers.  What  the 
other  countries  involved  in  the  traffic  need  is  someone  from  among  their 
own  citizens,  or  some  group,  to  do  the  same  for  them.  Perhaps  the  manu- 
facturers themselves  can  purge  their  ranks. 

42 


The  influence  may  not  always  be  so  directly  evident;  it  may  be  as 
subtle  as  someone  prominent  in  politics  saying  to  a responsible  official : 
“These  are  hard  times,  and  our  country  needs  all  of  the  manufacturing 
and  export  business  it  can  get,  and  if  we  agree  to  give  up  this  business, 
another  country  will  snap  it  up.”  Or  it  may  be  bare-faced  corruption 
somewhere  along  the  line,  not  necessarily  in  high  circles.  But  anyone 
familiar  with  the  workings  of  what  are  known  as  “practical  politics”  will 
feel  that  it  is  not  altogether  improbable  that,  at  some  point  in  the  Chain 
of  persons  profiting  from  the  trade,  a reward  is  given  by  them  in  money, 
votes,  position,  campaign  contributions  or  what-not,  to  someone  in  the 
political  chain,  to  influence  local,  national  or  international  action.  Of 
course,  this  conjecture  is  intended  to  apply  only  to  those  countries  which 
are  evading  their  international  obligations  either  by  failing  to  enact  laws 
which  they  have  agreed  by  treaty  to  enact,  or  by  failing  honestly  to  enforce 
those  that  have  been  enacted. 

Where  a country  has  adequate  laws  and  machinery  for  enforcement, 
and  yet  frequent  seizures  in  various  parts  of  the  world  indicate  that 
“drugs”  from  that  country  are  getting  into  illicit  channels  in  large  quan- 
tities, there  is  doubtless  connivance  on  the  part  of  administrative  officials. 
A private  or  official  or  legislative  inquiry  instituted  in  such  countries 
ought  to  develop  the  reason  for  the  “leakages.”  Shortly  after  the  war  a 
“leakage”  of  huge  extent  is  said  to  have  occurred  in  the  United  States, 
not  from  a manufacturer  but  from  the  surplus  government  supplies. 

The  two  noteworthy  recent  developments  in  international  “drug”  con- 
trol are  the  resolution  of  the  Advisory  Commission  of  the  League  asking 
for  an  inquiry  in  each  country  as  to  the  cause  of  “leakages”  from  fac- 
tories, and  the  note  by  the  United  States  to  each  of  the  signatories  of  the 
Hague  Convention  asking  what  they  are  doing  to  comply  with  their  obli- 
gation to  control  “drugs.” 

There  are  two  schools  of  thought  on  the  proper  method  of  control  of 
drugs : One  believes  in  rationing  the  factories,  the  other  in  controlling  ex- 
port. There  is  room  for  an  honest  difference  of  opinion  here;  but  it  is 
regrettable  that  when  the  latter  idea  was  accepted  at  the  Geneva  Con- 
vention, the  Central  Board,  designed  to  control  export  at  least  to  the  ex- 
tent that  any  League  body  is  likely  to  be  authorized  to  “control”  inter- 
national trade,  was  stripped  of  so  much  of  its  power  by  the  insistence  of 
certain  countries. 

Should  the  United  States  adhere  to  the  Geneva  Conventions?  To  my 
mind  it  does  not  make  a great  deal  of  practical  difference  one  way  or  the 
other.  The  United  States  should  undoubtedly  lend  its  aid  in  enforcing  all 
'of  the  progressive  features.  Adherence  would  have  a good  moral  effect 
on  those  countries  who  look  to  this  nation  for  leadership.  America  should 
certainly  join  in  the  League  of  Nations  Central  Board  nominations.  Since 
action  by  the  Senate  is  necessary  for  adherence,  the  discussion  incident 
thereto  would  at  least  have  a clarifying  effect  and  a publicity  value  for  the 
whole  problem,  even  if  adherence  would  not  be  possible  until  almost  the 
time  for  another  conference. 


43 


ANNEX  II 


Statistics  Furnished  by  the  Bureau  of  Customs  and  the 
Constabulary  of  the  Philippines  and  the 
Police  Department  of  Manila 


I.  Amount  of  Opium  and  Morphine  Seized  by  the  Bureau  of 
Customs  of  the  Philippines. 


Year 

Place 

Opium  Seizures 

Morphine  Seizures 

(kgs.) 

(kgs.) 

1919 

Manila 

93.174 

3.508 

Sub-ports 

120.155 

Total  

213.329 

3.508 

1920 

Manila 

336.892 

24.540 

Sub-ports 

919.512 

Total  

1256.404 

24.540 

1921 

Manila 

63.025 

3.223 

Sub-ports 

138.991 

.030 

Total  

202.016 

3.253 

1922 

Manila 

89.893 

.002 

Sub-ports 

100.184 

Total  

190.077 

.002 

1923 

Manila 

636.960 

Sub-ports 

36.264 

.006 

Total  

673.224 

.006 

1924 

Manila 

78.262 

.488 

Sub-ports 

66.461 

2.000 

Total  

144.723 

2.488 

1925 

Manila 

647.407 

2.000 

Sub-ports 

165.908 

.048 

Total  

813.315 

2.048 

1926 

Manila 

718.869 

.376 

(up  to  Dec.  14) 

Sub-ports 

66.266 

.594 

(up  to  Sept.  31) 

Total  

785.135 

.970 

TOTAL 

SEIZED  1919-1926 

4,278.223  Kgs. 

36.815  Kgs. 

VALUE  2,780,844.95  pesos  73,630.00  pesos 

44 


II.  Opium  Cases  Recorded  by  the  Philippine  Constabulary. 


Number 

Persons 

Approximate 

Fines 

Year 

of  Cases 

Arrested 

Seizures 

Value  in  Pesos 

in  Pesos 

1919 

83,725.00 

1920 

1,389,137.00* 

1921 

284 

332 

70,267  gr. 

29^965.70 

20,110.00 

1922 

260 

341 

74,870  gr. 

47,290.80 

43,250.00 

1923 

349 

70S 

35,734  gr. 

33,370.00 

29,475.00 

1924 

423 

500 

32,434  gr. 

32,677.12 

68,115.00 

1925 

381 

593 

1,006,731.25  gr. 

301,819.40 

46,461.00 

TOTALS 

1,697 

2,451 

1,220,036.25  gr. 

1,917,985.02 

207,411.00 

III.  Number  of  Arrests  Made  by  the  Police  Department  of  the 
City  of  Manila  for  Violation  of  the  Opium  Law. 


TABLE  1. 


1907 

1908 

1909 

1910 

1911 

1912 

1913 

1914 

1915 

Conducting  opium  and  mor- 
phine joints  

— 

— 

— 

— 

3 

4 

11 

— 

— 

Eating  opium  

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

3 

1 

— 

— 

Frequenting  opium  joints  .. 

— 

— 

— 

— 

2 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Illegal  sale  of  cocaine  & 
morphine  





2 

1 

— 









Illegal  possession  & use  of 
morphine  and  cocaine  .... 

9 



_ 

174 

462 

498 

927 

537 

274 

Illegal  importation  of  opium 
and  morphine  





12 

30 

60 

25 

1 



Illegal  possession  of  pro- 
hibited drugs  

_ 

_ 

1 

_ 

_ 

Illegal  possession  of  opium 
paraphernalia  



_ 



3 

1 

19 

35 

3 

1 

Inmates  of  opium  joints  

— 

— 

— 

~ 

— 

2 

16 

23 

5 

Receiving  morphine  thru 
the  trails  







- . 

2 



■ 

Selling  opium  without 
license  

3 





. -- 

. 

1 

1 

Smoking  opium  

5 

— 

— 

106 

264 

383 

216 

42 

— 

Smuggling  opium  

1 

— 

— 

28 

41 

16 

9 

4 

6 

Spy  for  opium  & morphine 
joints  



_ 

_ 

14 

11 

3 

9 

Violation  of  opium  law 
(Miscellaneous)  

396 

653 

1054 

729 

10 

_ 

50 

9 

. 

Visiting  opium,  morphine 
and  cocaine  joints  

__ 

— 

__ 

— 

26 

327 

247 

162 

75 

TOTAL 

414 

653 

1056 

1053 

842 

1327 

1549 

784 

370 

^Including  one  very  large  seizure  in  Cebu. 

45 


1916 

1917 

TABLE  2. 

1918  1919 

1920 

1921 

1922 

1923 

1924 

1925 

Conducting  opium 
joints  



1 



4 

7 

2 







Illegal  importation 
of  opium  

3 

3 



53 

__ 



■ ■ 

- - 

Illegal  possession  of 
cocaine  and  mor- 
phine   

61 

84 

91 

108 

1 

5 

Illegal  possession  of 
opium  



54 

46 

- ■ - 

35 

145 

427 

221 

495 

281 

Illegal  possession  of 
opium  pipe  

1 

1 

2 

1 

_ 

—— 



- 

- -- 

Illegal  use  of  mor- 
phine   

43 

16 

20 

38 

26 

127 

30 

99 

Inmates  of  opium 
joints  

6 

6 





__ 

_ 

_ 

_ 

Smoking  opium  

549 

495 

291 

420 

30 

6 

119 

156 

— 

— 

Spy  — opium  & mor- 
phine joints  

6 

5 



16 

5 

1 

3 

6 

_ 

Smuggling  

1 

1 

— 

5 

— 

__ 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Violation  of  opium 
law  (Miscella- 
neous)   

4 

30 

245 

228 

Visiting  opium  and 
morphine  joints  

74 

42 

103 

341 

130 

302 

48 

21 

— 

— 

— 



— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 



— 

TOTAL  

748 

708 

553 

1016 

479 

816 

627 

503 

495 

281 

ANNEX  III 

Documents  Obtained  In  Canton,  China 

I.  ANTI-OPIUM  REGULATIONS 
(Canton)* 

1.  The  Nationalist  Government  decides  to  prohibit  opium  completely 
within  a time  limit  of  4 years  from  the  date  of  promulgation  of  these 
regulations. 

2.  The  Nationalist  Government  has  especially  established  an  Anti-Opuim 
Office  to  control  all  the  matters  concerned. 

3.  The  Anti-Opium  Office  is  authorized  to  undertake  the  monopoly  of 
selling  opium  during  the  period  in  which  opium  is  not  yet  completely 
prohibited. 

4.  Erom  date  of  publishing  these  regulations,  the  people  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Nationalist  Government  are  not  allowed  to  plant, 
sell,  or  manufacture,  or  purchase,  or  store  opium.  But  opium  for 
medical  use  that  has  been  certified  by  government  registered  qualified 

*The  date  of  promulgation  was  stated  to  be  August  1,  1925. 

46 


doctors  and  covered  by  licenses  of  the  Anti-Opium  Office  is  accepted. 
The  term  Opium  covers  opium  ra^v  or  prepared,  poppy,  dross,  mor- 
phia, cocaine,  heroin,  etc. 

5.  In  the  territories  under  the  Nationalist  Government  Avhere  poppy 
has  been  planted  before  the  promulgation  of  the  regulations,  the 
local  authorities  concerned  should  within  the  limit  of  three  months 
appoint  officers  to  make  investigation  and  have  the  poppy  plants  all 
rooted  out. 

6.  Such  persons  or  departments  as  store  opium,  raw  or  prepared,  whether 
or  not  affixed  with  revenue  stamps,  should  send  in  a detailed  report 
as  to  the  quantity  and  the  kind  to  the  local  Monopoly  Office  or  its 
branches,  not  later  than  ten  days  after  the  said  office  or  branch  is 
established.  The  opium  then  will  be  bought  at  proper  value  by  the 
Anti-Opium  Office. 

7.  Public  smoking-houses  are  to  be  uniformly  closed  from  the  date  of 
publishing  these  regulations. 

8.  People  are  not  allowed  to  smoke  opium  unless  they  are  granted  a 
license. 

9.  The  anti-opium  medicine  manufacturers  should  within  15  days  from 
the  enforcement  of  these  regulations,  produce  their  medicines  to  the 
Anti-Opium  Office  for  examination.  If  the  medicine  is  found  to 
contain  no  opium  and  to  be  suitable  for  anti-opium  use,  it  will  be  given 
a license  for  sale. 

10.  The  above  rule  is  also  applied  to  the  anti-opium  medicine  that  is 
manufactured  after  the  promulgation  of  these  regulations. 

11.  Those  contravening  the  provisions  of  Rule  4,  the  opium  and  transport- 
ing vessel,  and  all  apparatus  used  in  the  manufacturing  will  be  liable  to 
confiscation;  and  the  opium  plant  rooted  out;  and  will  be  liable  to  a 
fine  of  twice  the  value  of  the  confiscated  property,  or  be  sentenced  to 
imprisonment  for  a term  not  exceeding  5 years. 

12.  Anyone  breaking  Article  7 will  be  liable  to  have  his  opium  and  other 
articles  confiscated,  in  addition  to  a fine  of  $5,000  or  a sentence  of 
imprisonment  of  not  more  than  5 years. 

13.  These  regulations  will  take  effect  on  the  day  of  promulgation. 

II.  RULES  FOR  APPLYING  FOR  SMOKING  LICENSES 

(Canton)* 

1.  Any  opium  smoker  should,  according  to  the  time  limit  set  down  in 
the  Anti-Opium  Regulations,  gradually  reduce  the  quantity  of  opium 
at  least  by  one-fourth  each  year  until  his  habit  is  finished  within  four 
years. 


*The  date  of  promulgation  was  stated  to  be  August  1,  1925. 

47 


2.  Any  opitim  smoker  must  apply  for  a license  from  the  Anti-Opium 
Head  Office  or  its  branch  within  ten  days  from  the  date  on  which 
such  an  office  is  established.  The  particulars  for  his  registration  and 
application  are  as  follows:  1.  Name.  2.  Age.  3.  Address.  4.  Birth- 
place. 5.  Occupation.  6.  Daily  consumption  quantity  of  opium. 
7.  Purchase  of  opium  daily  or  monthly.  8.  Intending  to  stop  the 
habit  in  how  many  years  or  months?  9.  Smoking  place. 

3.  On  expiration  of  the  prescribed  time  limit,  no  license  will  be  issued. 

4.  A smoker  without  a license,  when  discovered,  will  be  arrested  and  sent 
to  Anti-Opium  Hospital,  and  will  be  released  only  when  his  habit  has 
been  stopped  in  a limited  time. 

5.  The  smoker  arrested  as  mentioned  in  the  above  article  must  himself 
pay  all  medical  expenses. 

6.  Licenses  are  divided  into  three  classes : 1st  Class,  to  pay  $10  a year 
for  consumption  of  6 or  over  6 mace  per  day.  2nd  Class,  to  pay  $5 
a year  for  consumption  of  3 or  over  3 mace  per  day.  3rd  Class,  to 
pay  $1  a year  for  consumption  of  less  than  3 mace  per  day. 

7.  When  a licensed  smoker  cannot  reduce  his  smoking  quantity  by  one- 
fourth  per  year  as  mentioned  in  Rule  1,  he  should  apply  for  permis- 
sion to  enter  the  opium  hospital,  or  be  forcibly  arrested  and  sent  to 
the  hospital  until  his  habit  is  finished. 

8.  No  license  is  transferable,  nor  can  it  be  used  to  purchase  opium  for 
any  other  person. 

9.  A licensed  smoker,  when  smoking,  should  carry  the  license  with  him, 
otherwise  be  treated  as  a non-licensed  smoker. 

10.  When  a smoker  loses  his  license,  he  should  report  at  once  for  cancella- 
tion and,  in  the  meantime,  apply  for  a new  license  by  payment  of  a fee 
at  half  the  rates  fixed  in  Rule  6. 

11.  A lost  license,  when  reported  for  cancellation,  will  become  invalid. 

12.  A licensed  smoker  is  allowed  to  smoke  only  in  the  district  to  which 
he  is  assigned.  When  he  has  removed  to  another  place,  he  must 
apply  for  a “permit  of  removal”  from  the  original  office  where  he 
obtained  his  license.  This  permit  is  to  be  affixed  to  his  license  so 
that  he  will  be  allowed  to  purchase  opium  from  the  opium  office  in  his 
new  place.  This  “permit  of  removal”  is  issued  free  of  charge. 

13.  These  rules  will  take  effect  on  the  day  of  promulgation. 


48 


ANNEX  IV 


HONGKONG* 

Report  of  the  Committee  Appointed  by  H.  E.  the  Governor 
to  Consider  the  Colony^s  Position  with  Regard  to 
the  Obligations  Incurred  under  the  Inter- 
national Opium  Convention,  1912 


Laid  before  the  Legislative  Council  by  Command  of  His 
Excellency  the  Governor  on  the  18th  September,  1924. 


Hongkong,  1st  March,  1924. 

The  Committee  has  been  appointed  “to  consider  the  suggestions  made 
by  the  Advisory  Committee  of  the  League  of  Nations  with  a view  to  de- 
termining what  further  measures  can  be  taken  in  Hongkong  to  give  a more 
effective  application  to  Chapter  11  of  the  Opium  Convention,  and  to  ex- 
amine the  existing  position,  and  to  explore  the  possibilities  of  further 
effective  action.” 

By  Article  6 in  Chapter  II  of  the  Convention  it  is  provided  that  “the 
contracting  Powers  shall  take  measures  for  the  gradual  and  effective  sup- 
pression of  the  manufacture  of,  internal  trade  in,  and  use  of  prepared 
opium,  with  due  regard  to  the  varying  circumstances  of  each  country 
concerned,” 

2.  In  Hongkong  the  measures  now  taken  to  give  effect  to  Article  6 
comprise  a Government  monopoly,  sale  of  Government  opium  at  an  arti- 
ficially high  price,  heavy  penalties  in  respect  of  trafficking  in  or  use  of 
opium  other  than  Government  opium,  and  the  maintenance  of  a consider- 
able force  of  Revenue  Officers  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  such  traffick- 
ing or  use.  There  is  no  check  upon  the  consumption  of  opium  apart  from 
the  high  price  charged  for  Government  opium  and  the  penalties  imposed 
in  respect  of  illicit  opium,  and  it  is  obvious  that  the  continuance  of  the 
present  policy  cannot  lead  to  the  suppression  of  the  use  of  opium  in  the 
Colony.  The  most  that  that  policy  can  effect  under  existing  conditions 
is  to  keep  the  opium  habit  within  bounds. 

The  problem  to  be  solved  is  whether,  under  existing  conditions,  it  is 
possible  to  suppress,  either  immediately  or  gradually,  the  consumption  of 
opium  in  Hongkong. 

The  Committee,  in  considering  this  matter,  has  ignored  the  financial 
aspect  of  the  opium  question,  and  it  is  agreed  that,  as  far  as  it  is  con- 

*Only  excerpts  from  this  report  are  printed. 

49 


cerned,  the  fact  that  the  Colony  derives  a considerable  revenue  from  the 
sale  of  opium  is  entirely, irrelevant. 

3.  The  Committee  is  of  the  opinion  that  some  20  to  25  per  cent  of  the 
adult  Chinese  population,  including  some  one  or  two  per  cent  of  the 
adult  female  population,  either  smoke  or  swallow  opium.  It  is  stated  by 
the  persons  employed  in  selling  Government  opium  that  the  percentage 
has  slightly  increased  during  the  past  six  or  seven  years.  Chinese  of  the 
better  class  are  inclined  to  regard  the  opium  habit  as  discreditable,  much 
as  they  would  regard  betting  as  discreditable,  but  they  are  certainly  not 
prepared  to  practice  what  they  might  possibly  preach.  Public  opinion 
might  not  countenance  too  open  a parade  of  either  gambling  or  opium 
smoking,  but  at  least  it  has  no  great  fault  to  find  with  the  not  too  ostenta- 
tious practice  of  the  latter  habit.  Opium  smoking  in  China  has  perhaps 
the  same  popular  support  as  betting  has  in  England,  and  the  one  practice 
is  probably  as  difficult  to  eradicate  as  the  other. 

* * * ^ 

4.  In  the  present  state  of  Chinese  public  opinion  the  only  way  to  dimin- 
ish or  to  put  a stop  to  the  use  of  opium  is  to  diminish  or  put  a stop  to  the 
production  of  opium.  The  first  Article  in  Chapter  I of  the  Opium  Con- 
vention requires  the  contracting  Powers  to  enact  effective  laws  or  regula- 
tions for  the  control  of  the  production  and  distribution  of  raw  opium,  and, 
except  in  so  far  as  India  is  concerned,  this  obligation  is  for  practical  pur- 
poses entirely  disregarded.  There  is  no  effective  control  over  the  produc- 
tion and  distribution  of  Chinese,  Persian,  and  Turkish  opium.  The  en- 
forcing of  Article  I of  the  Convention  must  be  antecedent  to  the  enforcing 
of  Article  6 of  the  Convention,  and,  while  China  continues  to  provide  its 
population  with  opium  in  limitless  quantity,  Hongkong,  in  attempting  to 
prevent  consumption  by  those  Chinese  who  happen  to  be  within  its  borders, 
is  merely  beating  the  air. 

5.  The  Committee  estimates  that  approximately  equal  quantities  of 
Government  and  illicit  opium  are  consumed  in  the  Colony.  An  increase 
in  the  Government  selling  price  would  probably  result  in  a pro  tanto  sub- 
stitution of  illicit  for  Government  opium.  Any  substantial  decrease  in  the 
Government  selling  price  would  almost  certainly  result  in  a substantial 
increase  in  consumption  generally,  as  Government  opium  is  of  much  su- 
perior quality,  and,  if  it  were  available  at  the  price  of  illicit  opium,  the 
demand  would  be  very  greatly  increased. 

6.  The  Committee  has  carefully  considered  the  question  of  increasing 
the  number  of  Revenue  Officers  and  of  providing  more  drastic  penalties 
of  trafficking  in  and  using  illicit  opium,  and  it  is  satisfied  that  the  measures 
already  taken  by  the  Government  go  as  far  as  is  reasonably  possible  in 
this  direction.  The  Chinese  Community  has  objected  time  and  again  to 
the  methods  of  search  now  employed,  methods  far  more  drastic  than  any 
used  in  the  United  Kingdom.  Public  opinion  is  at  least  not  emphatic 
against  the  smuggler,  and  the  Chinese  searcher  declines  to  make  himself 
unpopular,  except  for  an  adequate  consideration.  It  is  known  that  the 

50 


smuggler  not  infrequently  outbids  the  Government  for  the  Revenue 
Officer’s  services.  As  regards  penalties,  these  are  already  of  exceptional 
severity,  including  heavy  fines,  long  terms  of  imprisonment,  and  frequent 
banishment. 

* ^ 

8.  The  third  resolution  of  the  Advisory  Committee  recommends  “that 
a uniform  maximum  limit  should  be  fixed  for  the  amount  of  prepared 
opium  placed  on  sale  for  consumption,  calculated  according  to  the  number 
of  the  adult  Chinese  male  population,” 

A measure  such  as  this  would  result  in  the  buying  up  and  hoarding  of 
stocks  by  speculators,  who  would  re-sell  at  an  enhanced  price.  Persons 
unwilling  to  pay  the  price  would  substitute  illicit  for  Government  opium. 
It  would  be  preferable  to  limit  sales  by  raising  the  price  rather  than  by 
restricting  the  quantity  on  the  market,  but  neither  expedient  would  dimin- 
ish consumption,  as  illicit  opium  would  take  the  place  of  Government 
opium. 

The  Committee  understands  that  in  1920  the  Government  of  the 
Straits  Settlements  attempted  to  reduce  consumption  by  limitation  of 
supplies  and  that  after  a few  months  it  found  it  necessary  to  abandon  this 
policy.  The  Government  of  the  Punjab’s  experience  in  this  connection 
is  set  out  in  paragraph  31  of  the  Report  on  the  Excise  Administration  of 
the  Punjab  during  the  year  1921-22.  It  is  there  stated  that  measures  such 
as  the  restriction  of  supply  of  excise  opium  lead  to  smuggling  “and  simply 
aggravate  the  situation.  The  Financial  Commissioner  has  accordingly  de- 
cided recently  to  change  the  policy  in  this  respect  with  the  object  of  en- 
suring that  there  shall  in  each  district  be  a sufficient  supply  of  opium  so 
that  the  needs  of  the  people  may  be  satisfied  without  their  having  recourse 
to  smuggling.” 

9.  The  Advisory  Committee,  in  its  fourth  resolution,  recommends  “that 
the  possibilities  of  the  system  of  registration  and  licensing,  which  has  al- 
ready been  introduced  in  some  of  the  Far  Eastern  territories,  should  be 
thoroughly  explored.” 

In  a Chinese  community  of  the  size  of  that  in  Hongkong  it  would  not 
be  possible  to  keep  a check  upon  licenses,  if  they  were  issued  in  any  con- 
siderable number.  Licenses  would  be  bought  and  sold,  impersonation 
would  be  rife  and  licensees  would  corner  stocks  and  profiteer.  It  has 
been  suggested  that  licenses  should  be  confined  to  persons  permanently 
resident  in  the  Colony.  Some  ten  to  twelve  thousand  Chinese  pass  daily 
between  Hongkong  and  China:  a large  part  of  the  population,  having 
permanent  homes  in  China,  is  in  the  Colony  for  a longer  or  shorter  period 
according  to  the  prospects  of  remunerative  work : and  there  are  periodical 
in-rushes  of  refugees  who  escape  from  disorder  in  China  and  dribble 
back  at  varying  intervals  as  quiet  is  restored  to  their  individual  village  or 
district.  This  large  unstable  population  would  bring  in  the  opium  to 
which  it  is  accustomed  in  China,  and  its  more  wealthy  members  would 
purchase  the  much  superior  Hongkong  brand  from  the  licensed  permanent 

51 


residents ; which  permanent  residents  would  probably  be  men  of  the  coolie 
class  put  forward  as  figure  heads  by  profiteering  syndicates. 

It  has  been  put  before  the  Committee  that  smokers  are  already  regis- 
tered and  licensed  in  the  Netherlands  East  Indies.  The  Netherlands  East 
Indies  are  at  a considerable  distance  from  China,  reached  only  after  a long 
sea  voyage.  The  Chinese  are  there  an  alien  and  not  an  indigenous  race, 
and  they  form  a very  small  fraction  of  the  total  population.  Hongkong 
is  geographically  and  racially  an  integral  part  of  China,  and,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a mere  handful,  the  whole  of  its  population  is  Chinese.  The 
task  proposed  to  Hongkong  may  be  compared  to  the  task  of  preventing 
the  use  in  Manchester  of  an  article  which  is  in  common  use  throughout 
the  rest  of  England.  The  task  before  the  Netherlands  East  Indies  may 
be  compared  to  the  task  of,  for  example,  the  Argentine  authorities  in 
preventing  the  use  by  Englishmen  within  their  territory  of  an  article  to 
which  these  Englishmen  are  habitually  accustomed  in  England. 

The  argument  formerly  advanced  in  support  of  registration  and  li- 
censing was  based  upon  the  desirability  of  gradually  weaning  from  the 
habit  smokers  who  have  long  been  accustomed  to  the  drug.  There  would 
be  no  necessity  to  license  in  Hongkong  on  this  score,  as,  if  Government 
opium  was  not  available,  smokers  would  use  illicit  opium. 

* ♦ * * 

12.  It  has  to  be  admitted  that  the  only  persons  who  need  purchase 
Government  opium  are  those  who  want  a high  grade  product  and  those 
who  prefer  to  pay  a high  price  rather  than  risk  the  penalty  for  the  use 
of  smuggled  opium : and  this  argument  holds  good  in  respect  of  the  con- 
sumption of  any  duty  paid  article  in  lieu  of  its  smuggled  counterpart. 
But  it  does  not  follow  that  there  is  no  effective  control  over  the  consump- 
tion of  such  article.  It  is  the  opinion  of  the  Committee  that  the  control 
exercised  in  Hongkong  is  as  effective  as  is  possible  in  the  extraordinarily 
difficult  circumstances.  As  long  as  unlimited  supplies  of  opium  are  avail- 
able, opium  cannot  be  kept  out  of  the  Colony.  The  Government  of  Hong- 
kong, realizing  this  fact,  has  devised  a compromise.  It  sells  a good  grade 
of  opium  at  a very  high  price  and  it  visits  with  severe  penalties  all  those 
who  are  found  to  be  trafficking  in  or  using  other  opium.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  shortness  of  purse  on  the  one  hand  and  fear  of  the  conse- 
quences on  the  other  do  keep  consumption  very  far  below  the  rate  which 
would  obtain  if  Government  opium  were  cheapened  or  prohibited  or  pen- 
alties were  relaxed. 

13.  The  various  proposals  for  a gradual  diminution  in  the  amount  of 
opium  legitimately  available  have  been  discussed  in  the  preceding  para- 
graphs. It  remains  to  examine  the  question  whether  consumption  of 
opium  could  be  reduced,  if  no  further  legitimate  supplies  were  available. 
It  has  been  pointed  out  in  paragraph  9 that  the  habitual  smoker  need  not 
be  considered,  and,  if  such  a step  should  result  in  decreased  consumption, 
the  Government  should  go  out  of  business  at  once. 

The  Committee  has  expressed  the  opinion  that  a gradual  reduction  of 

52 


legitimate  supplies  will  be  counterbalanced  by  an  increase  in  the  use  of 
illicit  opium.  If  the  use  of  opium  were  to  be  prohibited,  it  is  probable  that 
the  situation  would  get  entirely  out  of  hand.  A comparison  which  sug- 
gests itself  is  the  placing  of  a small  foreign  Government  in  Marseilles  and 
the  prohibition  by  it  of  the  drinking  of  wine  by  the  French  within  the 
town  except  that  opium  is  much  more  easily  smuggled  than  wine.  Neither 
the  Hongkong  Government  nor  the  Council  of  the  League  of  Nations  can 
prevent  indulgence  in  a practice  habitual  in  a nation  of  four  hundred  mil- 
lion people  unless  that  nation  desires  to  give  up  that  indulgence,  and  unfor- 
tunately there  is  no  present  indication  that  the  opium  habit  will  be  aban- 
doned by  the  Chinese  people  in  the  near  future.  It  may  be  mentioned  in 
this  connection  that  the  Committee  has  read  with  considerable  surprise 
the  statements  by  Mr.  Chao  Hsin-chu  regarding  Shanghai,  which  appear 
at  pages  61  and  65  of  the  Minutes  of  the  Fifth  Session  of  the  Advisory 
Committee.  The  information  before  the  Committee  is  to  the  effect  that 
enormous  quantities  of  opium  go  to  Shanghai,  and  the  consumption  there 
is  very  large.  The  supervision  in  Shanghai  is  notoriously  far  less  strict 
than  it  is  in  Hongkong. 

In  Canton  the  Government  has  for  some  time  past  been  selling  opium 
for  revenue  purposes,  and  a Monopoly  has  now  been  formally  established. 

* * * 

15.  It  has  been  suggested  that,  if  confirmed  opium  smokers  are  regis- 
tered and  the  use  of  opium  is  otherwise  prohibited,  the  British  Govern- 
ment will  have  done  everything  possible  to  discharge  its  obligations  under 
the  Opium  Convention.  The  Committee  cannot  agree  with  this  suggestion. 
No  government  placed  as  the  Hongkong  Government  is  can  put  a stop  to 
a national  habit  of  an  alien  race  so  long  as  it  has  not  the  full  support  of 
public  opinion,  and  the  confining  of  opium  to  a few  smokers,  or  total  pro- 
hibition which  would  be  preferable,  would  result  in  a flood  of  smuggling 
which  it  would  be  impossible  to  stem. 

The  difficulties  of  detection  of  smuggling  are  in  present  circumstances 
insuperable.  Hongkong,  with  a total  area  of  376  square  miles,  has  a coast 
and  frontier  line  of  400  miles  over  any  part  of  which  Chinese  may  come 
and  go  at  will.  Opium  in  bulk  comes  by  ocean  going  steamer,  of  which 
the  crew  frequently,  and  sometimes  the  officers,  are  in  league  with  the 
smuggler,  and  it  comes  also  by  launch  and  by  junk.  The  opium  is  fre- 
quently put  overboard  outside  the  harbor  limits,  having  attached  to  it  a 
float  which  remains  submerged  for  a given  period  and  then  rises  to  the 
surface.  The  Hongkong  Government  is  about  to  incur  heavy  expense  in 
providing  a new  sea-going  revenue  vessel  to  operate  outside  harbor  limits. 
Many  Revenue  and  Police  launches  operated  by  the  Chinese  Government 
carry  on  an  active  trade  in  contraband  and,  having  a Government  status, 
they  are  more  or  less  immune  from  search.  One  such  launch  was  re- 
cently sunk  in  Hongkong  waters,  and  on  examination  of  the  wreck  opium 
and  arms  were  found  in  it.  Opium  is  carried  in  receptacles  bolted  outside 
the  bottom  of  a junk,  in  a hollowed  out  spar,  in  a compartment  inside  a 

53 


tin  of  petrol  or  a jar  of  wine,  in  the  leg  of  a bedstead,  in  a bag  of  flour, 
in  a woman’s  hair,  in  fact  in  every  possible  place  in  which  the  ingenuity 
of  the  Chinese  can  devise  means  to  hide  an  article  the  bulk  of  which  is  as 
small  as  its  value  is  large.  The  Chinese,  who  will  slice  the  top  from  a silver 
dollar,  will  hollow  out  the  interior,  refill  with  base  metal  and  replace  the 
top,  would  not  stumble  into  such  traps  as  the  European  might  be  able  to 
set  for  him  except  by  the  merest  chance.  The  Government’s  only  effica- 
cious weapon  is  money,  and  it  is  usually  worth  the  smuggler’s  while  to 
out-bid  the  Government.  An  unscrupulous  Revenue  Officer  and  an  in- 
former, working  on  strict  business  lines,  concern  themselves  merely  with 
the  amount  of  the  inducement,  and  are  indifferent  as  to  its  source. 

17.  Reform  must  come  from  within.  The  League  of  Nations  has  pre- 
vented opium  from  India  reaching  China  and  it  may  possibly  find  means 
to  prevent  Persian  and  Turkish  opium  from  reaching  China.  China  can 
and  will  grow  all  the  opium  that  she  requires  as  long  as  the  opium  habit 
is  to  the  public  taste  and  no  really  strong  body  of  public  opinion  is  opposed 
to  it.  It  is  the  firm  conviction  of  the  Committee  that  under  present  cir- 
cumstances no  reasonable  measure  can  be  devised  to  reduce  further  the 
consumption  of  opium  in  Hongkong.  The  Committee  is,  however,  in 
entire  accord  with  the  principle  of  opium  suppression,  and  it  is  its  sincere 
hope  that  it  will  be  possible  to  devise  some  practical  means  for  the  total 
abolition  of  the  practices  of  opium  smoking  and  opium  eating  both  in 
China  and  throughout  all  parts  of  the  world. 

CLAUDE  SEVERN,  Chairman. 

P.  H.  HOLYOAK 

CHOW  SHOU-SON 

R.  H.  KOTEWALL 

THOMAS  W.  PEARCE 

M.  FLETCHER 

N.  L.  SMITH 


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66 


